Hate
commercial
air
travel?
Despite
your
aversion,
the
airlines
do
teach
an
important
life
lesson
on
every
flight.
What's
that?
"Secure
your
own
mask
first
before
helping
others."
This
is
extraordinary
advice
that
applies
to
an
amazing
number
of
life's
challenges
--
things
that
regularly
come
up
in
meetings
of
Chief
Executive
Boards
International.
No,
it's
not
"selfish"
or
lacking
in
charity
or
volunteerism.
It's
not
"don't
help
others",
but
rather
"Secure
your
own
mask
first."
What are some of those situations? I can think of several:
- Problems
with
kids
--
Addiction,
acting
out,
self-destructive
behavior,
eating
disorders,
learning
disabilities,
chronic
or
life-threatening
health
issues.
The
list
is
endless,
and
most
experts'
first
recommendation
is
that
the
parents
themselves
get
into
counseling.
Changing the kid's behavior is challenging, stressful, and full of disappointments beyond the parents' control. What they can control are their own responses and developing the coping skills necessary to deal with a card life dealt them beyond their control. Kid issues can tear a couple apart if they don't find some support beyond themselves.
- Addiction
of
a
loved
one,
significant
other,
etc.
I
learned
The
#1
Thing
to
Know
About
Addiction
in
a
CEBI
meeting.
You
can't
help
the
addict
at
all
--
in
fact,
most
anything
you
try
will
make
the
problem
worse.
What
you can
do
is
get
to
an
Al-Anon
chapter
to
help
yourself
understand,
accept
and
cope
with
the
situation.
Secure
your
own
mask
first.
- Retirement
savings
vs.
college
funding
--
If
you
have
to
make
a
choice
between
the
two,
most
experts
advise
saving
for
retirement.
The
kids
can
figure
something
out
--
many
of
us
had
to.
They
can
borrow
money
to
go
to
college
and
pay
it
back
after
they
get
a
job.
Don't
try
that
plan
for
your
retirement
--
it's
probably
a
non-starter.
- Problem
employees
--
There's
generally
a
lot
of
collateral
damage
around
a
problem
employee. Rather
than
getting
entangled
with
trying
to
"fix"
the
problem
employee,
worry
about
yourself,
the
company
and
the
rest
of
the
employees.
Do
what's
better
for
them,
which
is
addressing
the
problem
head-on
with
the
problem
employee,
resulting
in
either
a
behavior
change
or
a
termination
as
quickly
as
possible.
The
survival
of
yourself
and
the
company
are
not
worth
jeopardizing
for
any
problem
child
on
your
payroll.
See
"When
Do
You
Decide
to
Do
Something
About
a
Problem
Employee?"
- Business Failure -- If you even suspect that your business is in trouble, be sure to secure your own mask before helping others. You need to conserve energy, attitude and cash to fight another day. That means making sure you have financial assets outside the business that are protected from creditors, the bank, etc. Others may have to take a back seat to your own financial survival. After all, you'll never make them whole if you don't conserve some seed corn for your next career adventure, whatever that turns out to be.
