Danger and opportunity in one word

One of my favourite words in Japanese (originally Chinese) is the word for crisis.

You heard that right.

Why?

The word for crisis in Japanese (same characters in Chinese) is Kiki 危機, written with the character for danger, and the character for chance.

The ancient Chinese were pretty wise. They recognised that within every crisis there is an opportunity. And in fact, in same cases, precisely because there are crises, there are opportunities. The development of technology during war is a prime example.

The English term for crisis comes from a Latinised form of the Greek krisis, which describes a “vitally important or decisive state of things, point at which change must come, for better or worse.”

Crises give us the chance to see things in an otherwise unfamiliar way. Looking at things from a different perspective helps us understand not only the situations, but the problem differently too. This gives us insights we wouldn’t normally have.

Don’t purposely go out of your way to make a crisis. Don’t start a war for the sake of insights. That’s just stupid.

If you find yourself in a crisis, see it for the opportunity it is.