10 Inspiring Life Lessons from Astronaut Chris Hadfield

Chris Hadfield is an amazing man being. He allowable the International Space Station. He used YouTube to teach united states about life in orbit. He used Twitter to requite us a new perspective on our planet. He did that viral cover of Bowie'due south Space Oddity.

And then he came dwelling house. He wrote a book chosen An Astronaut'due south Guide to Life on Earth. I read that book. It was awesome. Here are some things I learned from it.

ane. Take an attitude

In NASA terminology, your attitude is your orientation relative to two positions, for example your spaceship relative to the Earth and a satellite. Losing your attitude is bad, because you lot could terminate upwards drifting, lost and lone in outer infinite.

Chris Hadfield besides thinks of life trajectory similar mental attitude control – you need to stay on the correct path to accomplish your goals. It's always not in your control whether you get there or not, simply yous can practice everything in your ability to make it happen. In life, losing your attitude – drifting from your path – is way worse than not reaching your destination.

2. Aim for zip

In any given situation, according to Hadfield, you're either a 'plus-one', a 'zero' or a 'minus-one'. If y'all're a plus-one, you're actively adding value. If you're a zero, yous're generally competent and don't make it the way. Beingness a minus-one sucks, considering you lot're a liability and actively cause problems.

However, if you're a plus-1 and you walk into a situation trying to show how peachy you lot are, yous tin can become from a plus one to a minus one – your 'I got this' mentality might easily irritate and prove detrimental to the dynamic.

So the all-time affair to practise in a new situation? Aim for zero. Listen. Observe. Offer advice. Don't endeavor to take control of everything. If you lot know what you're doing, you won't need to tell people you're a plus i. They'll know information technology.

3. Utilise the power of negative thinking

'Negative thinking' sounds pessimistic. Defeatist. But when you recollect about it, planning for the worst can actually be energising and confidence-boosting. How? Well, if you ever prepare a contingency for every scenario you'll never be caught off-baby-sit.

Chris Hadfield's arroyo is to ask: "What's the next thing that could kill me?" It sounds exhausting and masochistic. But actually, it isn't. Past thinking nigh what could go wrong in whatever specific situation, you preempt bug with your own solutions.

And that means yous can really relax and savor life, knowing yous're prepare to act if things get wrong.

four. Sweat the small stuff

"An astronaut who doesn't sweat the small stuff is a dead astronaut," says Hadfield. The lesson: averting disaster isn't well-nigh making i-off life-or-death decisions – it's near learning and understanding all the niggling things that develop into a bigger issue. An example of astronaut small stuff is knowing the 'boldface' – the tried-and-tested instructions that make upwardly NASA'due south Flying Rules manual.

Not sweating the small stuff runs counter to conventional wisdom, yet there's truth in information technology. Yes, an astronaut's piece of work environment is radically more hostile and unsafe than virtually people's. But the point is that paying attention to the granular details – similar concrete wellness symptoms or signs of auto trouble – makes you incrementally safer.

v. Do care what others think

It's difficult to accept we're non in control of our own destiny. But the fact is other people have more than influence over the course of our careers and lives than we do. Chris Hadfield has been to space 3 times – in 1995 and 2001 on the Infinite Shuttle and 2013 on the ISS. Still no affair how hard he worked, it was ever someone else's decision to put him on a mission.

Which ways it makes sense to care what people call up about yous and your performance. So get feedback. Learn from it. Improve. If the only opinion you're worried virtually is your own, you're probably going to limit your progress.

half dozen. When the stakes are high, preparation is everything

We tin't always command what happens to usa in life when big moments come around. But we tin control how prepared we are. Information technology might seem obvious to prepare if y'all're planning to airplane pilot a Soyuz rocket to the ISS, but many of us fail to set for normal stuff in life – even if we know there are big moments are coming upwardly.

And so whether it's a large exam, a job interview or sports terminal, when the loftier-stakes situations arise planning for success is key. In almost scenarios, Hadfield argues that yous've passed or failed before you even begin, depending on your level of preparation.

7. Proficient leadership means leading the manner, non bullying other people to do things your way

Some people are very successful at intimidating people into going along with their plans. It's the creature force approach to getting things washed. But leading through coercion and bullying others means you're building your leadership credentials on very weak foundations.

Chris Hadfield reckons the better way to atomic number 82 is by proving the best class of action. Setting an instance. It'south the consensus-building approach. By showing people the right path, yous're creating a stronger platform for teamwork and leadership. People will follow you because they want to, not because they have to.

8. Put groupthink at the core of your teamwork

For Hadfield, the primal question to ask when you're function of a team is: "How can I help get us to where we need to go?" It's beautifully simple: put the team before yourself, and you're more than likely to win.

Hadfield argues that you actually don't need to be a superhero to be a valuable member of a team – empathy and a sense of sense of humor are ofttimes more important. He also suggests that searching for ways to lighten the mood is never a waste product of time, because it encourages expeditionary spirit – everyone pulling together in extraordinary circumstances to collectively accomplish a shared goal.

Conversely, while sharing common gripes can create a bond between team mates, excessive whining is corrosive and the antithesis of expeditionary behaviour.

Credit: NASA

9. Criticise the problem, never the person

Chris Hadfield believes that if you need to brand a strong criticism, it'south better to pinpoint the problem rather than attack the person. Yeah, it can be frustrating when yous endure for someone's mistake, but ridiculing or berating a colleague is counter-productive. 'Work the problem' is a core mantra of NASA culture. Information technology's not almost ego.

In fact, Hadfield advocates going out of your style to help colleagues improve in all areas. This seems strange coming from the hyper-competitive world of NASA, simply Hadfield argues that promoting colleagues' interests helps you stay competitive. Plus you have a vested involvement in your colleagues' success – the better they are, the more they tin can assist you succeed.

ten. Exist fix. Work. Hard. Bask it!

Ultimately, Chris Hadfield's life lessons boil down to being the all-time that you can be through hard piece of work and training. This approach has taken him from being a fighter pilot and exam pilot right through to a xx-year astronaut career. Information technology'southward not a ground-breaking philosophy, absolutely, just then how often practise nosotros truly earn the things we want by working for them? How often exercise nosotros just wish or hope they'd happen?

Featured photo credit: NASA via flickr.com

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Source: https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/10-inspiring-life-lessons-from-astronaut-chris-hadfield.html