All sorts of things happen throughout life and they are not always good. Sometimes bad, annoying or obstructive things happen. Sometimes, like the train crash, they can be big events but, as is more often the case, they tend to be small normal everyday events that can affect anyone. The thing to remember when the smaller one occurs is that whatever the problem may be it is not that big a deal in the whole scheme of things. 
The train crash really put this into perspective for me. There may have been 31 people killed and over 400 of us injured but the ramifications of what had happened spread out like ripples of water on a still pond. It is almost impossible to comprehend the number of people affected who were not directly involved. Husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, siblings, children, grandparents, friends…the list goes on.
I saw firsthand the devastation caused to the bereaved families with the loss of their loved ones. I watched the heartache my family endured with first being told I too was going to die, then when I didn’t taking in the injuries I had sustained and finally having to watch the pain and suffering I went through during my years of recovery. The raw emotion and mental trauma in these two groups of people were so palpable I could almost physically feel it as you would a tangible entity. Though painful to observe it brought home to me how what I was witnessing was very important and I should never forget.
Since then it has now become an automatic instinct for me to ask ‘Has anyone died, is anyone injured?’ whenever a new problem crosses my path or I am in danger of blowing a situation up out of all proportion. Every time the answer has, of course, been ‘no’. In the very instant of me answering my own rhetorical question I suddenly see the problem or situation for what it is. A minor irritant which is totally un-important. Down plunges my stress levels, anger or whatever other negative reaction I was about to embark upon.
Conversely the positive advantage to having this instinct is that by suddenly becoming calm and matter of fact upon my realisation, I actually tackle the problem much quicker and more effectively than would otherwise have been the case. And so it swiftly disappears.
So when you find yourself in a similar predicament diminish the negative hold it has on you. Stop and ask yourself; “Has anyone died, is anyone injured” and realise just how truly un-important it is in the grand scheme of things.
To book Pam as a professional speaker call 07768 120949 or email Pam@pamwarren.co.uk.
Pam’s book ‘From Behind the Mask’ tells the inspiring true story of Pam’s experience before, during and since the Paddington train crash. Get your author signed hardback copy or download the eBook now from Pam’s website: www.pamwarren.co.uk.
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