By Dr. Russ,
Hurricane Irene has blown up the East Coast and has left its damage behind; some damage worse than expected and some not as bad. Lives were lost and the total loss of life is still to be determined. Power outages and flooding are widespread and remain the biggest source of concern at this point.
Monday is Dr. Russ Busster Day, the day I offer some strategies to help you “Busst-Up” any pessimistic thinking. The circumstance of Hurricane Irene seems like an ideal teachable moment of optimism in relation to learning to “Bussterize” life’s difficult dircumstances.
Hurricane Irene Bussters
First Hurricane Pessimism Busster: Be prepared for the worst. From the President on down to local mayors, everyone asked the population to prepare for the worst case scenario. Such preparations included evacuations, putting up storm shutters, and sandbagging banks of rivers. We are not in control of the hurricane or its path, but when we take steps like these we are taking control of what we can control under the circumstances. We are keeping control of our destiny to the best of our ability. Such actions maintain optimism and diminish pessimism.
Second Hurricane Pessimism Busster: Look at the brightest side of life that is possible under the circumstances: A 48 year old Philadelphia resident reporting on her daughters reaction to the flooding Schuylkill River said: “My daughter thinks it looks like Venice and wants to know if we will have to take a boat to the CVS.”
Third Hurricane Pessimism Busster: Do NOT TAKE RISKS with your life, but do take risks to go out of our way to help others. Much of New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg’s rationale for closing the subway system and evacuating lowland areas was done not only to protect the lives of the residents of these areas, but also to protect the lives of “first responders” who would have to be out helping people in trouble who did not heed the warning and thus putting the responder’s lives at risk.
Fourth Hurricane Pessimism Busster: A hurricane like all natural disasters, always presents opportunities to rebuild and start anew. We now know forest fires are necessary to keep a forest alive and vibrant as they clear out useless and stifling underbrush and debris on the floor of the forest. In many cases the most vulnerable building structures are the first to go down. Replacing those is a blessing. But whenever we have the opportunity to build something new we always have the opportunity to make improvements on the past.
Fifth Hurricane Pessimism Busster: We learn over and over the importance of life skills related to adaptation, flexibility and continuous learning. A week before hurricane Irene hit, there was an earthquake on the East Coast that did damage to some of the monuments in the nation’s capitol. No one expected an earthquake and hence the buildings were not build to withstand that kind of pressure. It rarely snows in the nation’s capitol and when it does the residents are just not prepared for it. On the other hand we expect and are much more prepared for hurricanes, and have learned the importance of adaptation, flexibility and learning in order to minimize the damage to life and property.
