More than ten years ago while I was attending some college classes, I took these notes when we had a guest speaker come in to the campus. It was some informal research this speaker had done and I thought was helpful....tips on handling a crisis.

If you aren't dealing with a crisis right now, hang on to the list - put it in your daily diary, family Bible or some other meaningful location - because life is how it is: a crisis is sure to be on all of our horizons in the future:

HOW DO WE SUCCESSFULLY COPE WITH A CRISIS

These six items are a common thread found following interviews with 120 individuals who had successfully survived a major setback in their lives. The research was done by a professor from the University of Minnesota.

1. Be gentle with yourself - Don’t stay focused on what you could or should have done differently - spent less, worked harder, smoked less, loved more, left 5 minutes earlier;
2. Spend time with your friends - Make time for friends - good friends - lots and lots of them. They will be the ones who encourage you, love you, accept you through your crisis;
3. List what you have lost and what you have left - Make a list of both items. Take your time in completing both lists. The list of what you have left will ALWAYS be much longer than what you have lost;
4. Make plans for the future - Make those plans - even if you are old; even if your money is gone; even if your diagnosis leaves you very little time in the future; even if you are left alone;
5. Don’t make the problem any bigger than it is - You aren’t the first (or last) to have this happen to you. Others have survived what you are going through. Keep the crisis in perspective;
6. Face your problem with faith - Faith is a common thread in all the people interviewed who successfully survived their crises. Whatever your faith is in. Whatever you believe. That faith will help to see you through the trouble.