How many of you wear contacts? I wore them through college and early adulthood but stopped wearing them when our boys came along. It was easier for me to put on and take off my glasses when getting up in the middle of the night or taking an afternoon nap.

I started back wearing contacts a couple of years ago. I do prefer wearing them over glasses especially in playing tennis. Though they do have their issues. Inevitably I either drop a contact some where in the sink basin or I have difficulty taking it out of my eye. Either way I find myself panicking. I have learned that panic does not find the contact. I have to take deep breaths and tell myself out loud- "Do not panic, you will find it."

Makes me think of other times in life when I feel the panic rising: finishing a project by the deadline, getting to the appointment on time, paying the monthly bills. I have to physically say, "breathe", so that I will not panic. Depending on the event or situation I will go so far as to start saying, "So what's the worst that can happen?" I name it and so I can move on.

In my life as a contact wearer, I have experienced a worst case scenario. In college after a long night of studying I thought I still had my contact in so I continued swiping my eye to get it out. Only to discover, after a trip to the ER that there was no contact in and I had scratched my cornea. I had to wear a patch over my eye for a couple of days. Of course the next day I had to help host an event on campus. I couldn't think of a creative enough story for my pirate visage and so had to respond to the question, "What happened to you?" with my pathetic, can't handle my contacts story.

Every time I start to panic, I remember that scenario, that I was able to "survive" relatively unscathed and remind myself that things will be okay. Thinking in these terms has helped me during client presentations, business meetings, writing proposals, and lost or noncompliant contacts.

What about you? What things cause you panic? Do you think of the worst case scenario? Have you lived through a worst case scenario? What helps you stop the panic?