When there’s an emergency, we act.

Sometimes we don’t know what to do and so we act on impulse and instinct. We make quick, educated guesses.

Other times, we've prepared for the emergency. There’s a plan in place, and we follow the plan.

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When there’s not an emergency, however, it can be harder to act.

Nothing is pressing. No immediate harm will be done if we sit idle.

So the challenge is to be productive amidst the lull. To be self-motivated. To make a plan and to execute. To do our best work with a sense of purpose and urgency.

* * *

Of course, some people like to manufacture emergencies. They create chaos so they can do a lot of yelling and hand-waving. Then they spend all their time problem-solving and playing the part of the hero... solving the problems that they never really had to create in the first place.