The Y2K problem is clearly unprecedented, requiring creativity, ingenuity, and above all, emotional balance. It arrives at a time when uncertainty and the pace of change are already increasing at breakneck speed. Much like trying to predict the path and devastation of an approaching hurricane, little can be known beforehand as to how widespread the impending destruction will be, how extensive the infrastructure breakdowns, or how long-lasting the effects. But the silver lining in this otherwise gloomy scenario is the potential we each have to prepare ourselves, our families and our communities, internally--emotionally--for what is to come. Begin thinking now that the Y2K challenge revolves not just around preparing to survive and avoiding inconvenience, but around a set of opportunities for personal growth and community resilience.

This Action Guide has done much to educate you about the potential impact of Y2K on your business and personal life. It is now up to you to choose how you'll respond and how your emotions and behavior will affect your spheres of influence: family, friends, organization, community. Some will prepare in rational, measured ways. Others, especially those who hear only brief fear-based snippets in the media, will make decisions out of worry and paranoia. Readers on the other side of the millenium will look back at how we as a global community have dealt with the first truly global, man-made disaster. Did we prepare well? Did we pull together in a sense of community to address the issues maturely and with balance? Or did we overreact and allow selfish interests to distort more balanced perspectives? Did the tendency to assign blame result in a frenzy of litigation? Or did it give us a new perspective on how technology dependent we had become? Did we look for and find hope in the midst of gloom?

The Institute of HeartMath has worked with teachers, nurses, business executives, police chiefs and many other people and organizations from all walks of life over the last 10 years. We have learned that even in the midst of the most frustrating chaos, a new level of coherence can emerge. Our view is that new levels of personal, family and organizational efficiency, synchronization, and effectiveness are possible. In the face of Y2K, a situation fraught with a variety of emotional traps such as denial, paralysis, shock and panic, discovering how to unlock new levels of human intelligence and cooperation is our best and perhaps only hope.

One of the most effective things individuals can do is to maintain personal responsibility for their emotions and not add to the stress and chaos of the situation. HeartMath offers tools that you can use to manage your emotions and gain mental and intuitive clarity about what to do.