Years ago, I read a book by Amanda Ripley that really made an impact on me. It was about the psychology of folks who’ve survived horrible disasters like plane crashes, earthquakes, and 9/11.

The book is called The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes – and Why.

Forget all the DIYs and wilderness survival books. Obviously, it’s important to learn about that stuff too, but nothing matters more in a crisis than your response to that crisis.

It honestly changed everything about mental preparedness for me, and I strongly recommend the book.

Ripley, a journalist, researched the aftermath of extreme disasters and spoke to survivors to discover what they had in common.

We have completely different disaster personalities than our everyday personalities. Some are helpful, and some are absolutely not helpful.

There are different stages of acceptance when a crisis occurs, and how rapidly you process those stages can be the difference between life and death.

The question here is: Who will you be?

Have you ever been in a life-threatening emergency?

Have you experienced a life-threatening crisis like the ones in the book? If so, were you surprised – or perhaps – disappointed – with your own response?

If you weren’t happy with how you reacted, don’t despair. You can improve your crisis personality and your responses to emergencies. It requires a lot of personal study, education, and effort, but will be worth its weight in gold when you need it.

Have you read this book?

Article posted with permission from Daisy Luther