Emergency mode

When we’re in emergency mode, in many ways, we operate at a high level. We’re focused. We’re nimble. We improvise. We take care of what's necessary and sideline the distractions.

But we’re not always in emergency mode.

Many times, really, we’re far from it.

Or we were in it, but the period as passed and we’ve forgotten to recalibrate.

We find ourselves juggling and reacting — not reflecting, not long-term planning, not taking the wider view.

Like the Japanese soldiers who continued fighting in the Philippines long after WWII had ended, we can occasionally miss the signals of peacetime.

We can do many great things on the fly … but we’re not always on the fly.

When we can, pausing to reset can be a useful practice.