When praying fails, there’s really only one option left: Panic.

Now, I don’t say this lightly. Telling someone to panic is like yelling, “Fire!” in a movie theater, only in the small scale. It’s irresponsible. It’s dangerous. And should only be done when you really, really mean it.

I mean it. Panic. You’ll feel better. That, or someone will feel compelled to slap you thus bringing you back to your senses. The slapping doesn’t always work, but I think it makes them feel better, like they’ve done something productive, well more productive than your panic.

Don’t get me wrong. The panic option is a last resort when all of your viable, reasonable options have proven to be in fact futile. Just go ahead and panic.

Here’s the trick though. Only panic for a very small amount of time. That instant of panic, the moment your mind says, “We’re screwed,” is the exact point the other part of your mind can answer, “Screw you! We haven’t tried this yet!” Necessity my butt, panic is the mother of invention.