In the moment, it’s really difficult.
L’espirit descalier means, “the spirit of the staircase.” That thing you wished you had a said just a moment ago, the bon mot or the clever riposte. It only comes to us as we’re walking away.
But this sort of quick comment is good for the movies, not so much for the work we seek to do.
When we’re in the middle of it, when the speed bump or emergency arises, perhaps it pays to write a blog post about the incident that will go live in two months. Or to simply think about what you will remember about this moment then.
Two months ago, that thing that happened, could you handle it better now?
We’re able to build the habit of finding that staircase.