Would you have a great empire? Rule over yourself
Publius Syrus
Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle Is The Way, p.27
What is the most important skill an astronaut can have in space? It is not flight skills, physical endurance, daring, bravery or not throwing up in zero gravity. It’s the ability to not panic.
Panic kills
Panic leads to error of judgement. It disrupts focus and make rules, procedures and regulations go out the windows. It paralysises and clouds thinking. It causes flight or freight autonomic reactions, not considered, informed decisions.
It is no different on earthly terra firma. Everything is organised to an I and a T, all crossed and dotted. Then the sh*t hits the fan, we shed the manifesto and for a full blown freak out.
Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.
– Mike Tyson’s answer to a reporter who asked whether he was worried about Evander Holyfield and his fight plan.
In outer space, panic is deadly. Just think of how calm Mission Commander Jim Lovell was when he uttered the famous words, “Ah, Houston, we’ve had a problem.
And it can he just as deadly on earth, even if it is metaphoric suicide. Career suicide. Relationship suicide.
How do we learn not to panic?
So we have to learn not to panic.
And it does not leave willingly. It takes a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy approach.
Before leaving earth, NASA rehearses launch day repeatedly, in a step-wise fashion, hundreds of times. From waking up to strapping,without actually firing the rockets. Gradually, in a sequence of “exposures”, the astronauts experienced every sense and sensation of shooting into space, over and over again, until it became second nature. This removed all ambiguity.
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Failure Is Feedback: Look Forward To The Lessons You Will Learn
Fear and ambiguity are relieved by certainty. Practice is certainty. It’s a vent. With enough practice, you can evolve out of these inbuilt fear that are rooted mainly in unfamiliarity. On the plus side, unfamiliarity is simply, but not easily fixed, which increases our tolerance for anxiety and novel experiences.
Go out there and get practicing.
Enjoy!
Scott
