The Asteroid

In the last few blogs we have been dealing with challenges that you are likely to face in your life, such as a power outage during a cold winter, problems with those you are living with, etc. So we thought we might address one that is probably a very unlikely thing that you will ever deal with. At least we would hope so for all of us. But scientists tell us that it could happen.

Here is the challenge: A very large asteroid is now believed to be on a collision course with Earth. It is believed to be of a similar size to the one that produced the extinction of the dinosaurs. If it strikes Earth, it will wreak havoc and destruction. No one is quite sure yet if this is likely to occur. It is anticipated that if it does, it will be sometime in the next six months. There are efforts being made by the various governments of the world to determine if Earth is actually in danger, and efforts to plan for some type of diversion if the asteroid is on a collision course with Earth.

What would you use in the skills and the attitudes of resilience that we have been reviewing in this blog to cope with this situation?

There are a host of skills and attitudes that could be applied to this one. They involve such things as the old stand-by, such communication with others and connecting with others to really find out what’s going on, and to begin to deal with some of the feelings that you’re beginning to have about what could occur. Management of one’s feelings in this situation would be really important. Denial of what is happening or what might happen and denial of your feelings about this would not be a good idea.

By keeping yourself informed and beginning to think through possible scenarios and your response to them, you could begin to make some realistic plans for what you might  be able to do. This is a time, of course, to think about taking care of yourself and others. There are few situations in which humankind has found itself totally helpless.  See the big picture. Assume the best rather than the worst.

This may also be a time for doing some deep thought about what you see as the meaning of your life and your purpose in this world and some accounting to yourself and to others for your actions.

Indeed, the situation that we are presenting may not be a very likely one, but it may require some of the same skills and attitudes that we need to deal with other, more likely collisions that we may have with a terminal illness or a disabling accident. 

As with the other challenges that we have presented, you may have other ideas about the skills and the attitudes that could be applied to this situation. We would encourage you to think this through and to talk with others about how they would deal with such a situation. Connecting with others, communicating, reevaluating your sense of purpose and direction, managing your feelings about the situation and taking action to care for yourself and for others would be critical to responding to this challenge