Drink the wild air
“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, Drink the wild air‘s salubrity.” Ralph Waldo Emerson preface of ‘Considerations by the Way’ published in ‘The Conduct of Life’,(1860, revised 1876).
emotion
Go beyond happy
Scientifically studying how humans get to be and stay happy is one of modern psychology’s success stories. Positive psychology, with its insights into pleasure and achievement, has benefited millions. But there should be more to life than happy. And this new powerful book, The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters, by Emily Esfahani Smith (2017), is a gateway to getting there. Moving beyond a happy life to a meaningful life. It’s a very readable story, which considering the serious ground it covers, citing loads of scientific studies as well as ‘heavy hitters’ like Buddha, Kant, Aristotle and Viktor Frankl, is … Continue reading Go beyond happy
Anne McClain on facing fears
Anne McClain has faced down many fears, and is now going to be rewarded with sights that are literally out of this world. She’s been an Army combat helicopter pilot who deployed to Iraq, an instructor pilot and a test pilot. She is currently a NASA astronaut, in the pipeline to fly to Mars. Quote is from an interview in Glamour magazine, Jan 2016, talking about walking out on the launchpad to ride a rocket. And the picture is from her super-cool NASA video bio.
Don’t let your emotions …
Never get emotionally worked up in the cockpit — you’ll only die mad. Best be like the WWII British poster, keep calm and carry on:
You’re not in a dangerous situation until
Scott Crossfield — fighter pilot, aeronautical engineer, first person to fly twice the speed of sound and X-15 chief engineering test pilot — quoted in the classic book X-15 Diary released this week. He is also quoted as saying: In all of this business there’s a requirement of intense concentration—if you can train yourself to be self-disciplined. If you close the car door on your finger, your impulse is to put it in your mouth and curse. But you train yourself too wait. It’s part of the profession—to avoid an emotion or a reflex reaction. Clearly a safety warrior at work.