This 1 Hack From A First Responder Will Keep Your Head Cool In An Emergency

Do you know how to stay calm during an emergency?

Too often, we buckle under the pressure and panic. Take it from an expert who has experienced literal life-or-death stakes.Ryan Fields-Spack is currently the first responder wellness lead at FirstNet, a nationwide communications network for first responders. But before that, he spent 25 years working as a firefighter and paramedic and leading teams in emergency services. He’s seen the difference between fire department chiefs who stayed calm in emergencies and those whose yelling and nerves led everyone else to panic.

When “the person that was in charge didn’t control the situation, everything else around them got worse,” Fields-Spack recalled to HuffPost. “I saw that moment when I was 18 years old [working as a firefighter], and I said, ‘You know what? I just need to find a way to get above this.’”

For Fields-Spack, this meant studying psychology and meditation to develop what he calls a “neutral moments theory” to tackle any moment that requires intense focus, clarity and decisive thinking. He’s used and taught it to first responders, but he’s also used it in everyday emergencies that crop up in parenting and with corporate jobs, too.

“If you can bring yourself into a neutral moment, into a present-moment state of mind, and not worry about what’s happening before, what’s happening after,” then you will “be able to survive and thrive in that situation,” he said.

You may not face the same stakes as a first responder, but you can learn how to stay calm and clear-headed like one, no matter what kind of personal or professional emergency you face. Here’s how:

How The ‘Neutral Moments Theory’ Works

Fields-Spack said getting to a neutral headspace requires both a