Welcome back to my fifth blog post of my MasterClass blog series. I took Chris Hadfield Teaches Space Exploration and am excited to share with you everything I learned about life and mental health during this course.
I have always found space interesting, but not necessarily compelling. To be honest, I wasn’t that excited to start the class. I already had an interest in some of the topics of the other classes I took, like Gordon Ramsay Teaches Cooking and Penn & Teller Teach the Art of Magic, so I expected to like them. I thought I’d just force myself to trench through a class on space, but along the way I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the class. This was the most foreign MasterClass, but the most inspirational. Maybe because I wasn’t expecting it. Maybe because it’s all brand new to me.
Exploration is for All
One of the first things Chris Hadfield said is that this class isn’t just for space explorers, it’s for all explorers, and that connected to me as an explorer. Even though I’ve never been that interested in space, I am interested in learning new things and being surprised by what I don’t know. When you try new things, it gives you the opportunity to surprise yourself. You may think you won’t like something, but if you give it a try, you may discover something new about yourself, allowing you to foster a deeper connection with yourself.
While space exploration isn’t necessarily for everyone, exploration itself should be. I learned that this class is for anyone interested in exploring more about themselves and the world around them, and anyone who’s interested in learning more in general. It’s for the curious.
Exploration is pivotal for humanity and something we’ve always done as a species. People migrate and explore out of necessity to find resources, settle, or expand. The first humans to arrive in New Zealand was only about 700 or 800 years ago. Antarctica was 100 years ago. Space was 50 years ago. Humans constantly expand exploration into new places and realms. Not only outwards to new destinations, but inwards as well. If you truly want to experience the potential of life, it requires the exploration of self. We don’t grow with the comfort and stability of home. If we want to understand what you can be as a person, you have to go explore. Not just where you want to go and travel in the most obvious way, but hobbies, interests, etc. You don’t know what you’re capable of if you don’t explore outside of your comfort zone.
Seeing the Big Picture
There are only three countries who are currently in space: America, Russia, and China. All are superpowers that have political difficulties between them. But when the astronauts are in space aboard the International Space Station (ISS), they can view Earth as a whole. One planet they all belong to as Earthlings, rather than seeing themselves by their nationalities. Everyone they have ever known and loved is on that ball they can see. We are all more than our nationality. What is best for our species as a whole? By taking a (huge) step back and looking at the big picture, it gives them perspective as to what is really important.
The astronauts physically move back (or up and away) to see the big picture. It’s visceral and forces them to think about the most important aspects of life. If you’re caught up in the minutia of your life, you can’t see the big picture. Although you may not be able to go into outer space to get that exact perspective, you can sit down, have a cup of tea, and ask yourself, “is this the life I want to live?” Not just, “is this the Monday I want to have?”, but big questions about what matters most. “Is this the job I want to have?” “Is this the girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse/partner I want to be with?” Take a metaphorical step back and look at your “planet” – your life. Is this the life you currently want? Is this the trajectory you want to be one? Are you doing what’s best for you? When you reflect on and answer those questions, don’t just consider your survival, but your exploration and growth.
Humility as a Virtue
In order to be an astronaut candidate, or ASCAN, you have to be the best of the best of the best. The best engineer, the best pilot, the best in your field. Then you show up for testing and you’re the worst. You go from the most knowledgeable person in the room to the least in a single step. It can be very intimidating because for a while, you’re the shit. You’re impressive, smart, and the one who intimidates and humbles others (even if you don’t mean to). Then all of a sudden, you become the lowest of the low and you realize you don’t know everything. You’re the only one in the room who has not been to space.
Being humbled reveals you have a shortcoming. For example, you are a fast runner and always have been (in your world). You always came in first place, even to qualify for the Olympics. But then when you got there, you competed and raced against people much faster than you, realizing you weren’t actually the fastest runner. In order to be humbled, you need to be in the presence of something or others you revere in order to reveal that you are not the best.
Most people struggle with the feeling of being humbled because it can be synonymous with the sensation of being embarrassed or recognizing your own inferiority. But anyone who accepts being humbled is more likely to feel grateful for that experience. Feeling humbled should not be rejected; it should be pursued. Being the best of the best doesn’t lead to growth. It creates stagnancy. It doesn’t give you the opportunity to explore new interests or your potential for growth.
“If you’re not being humbled, you should find someplace you will be.”
Are you staying in your comfort zone? Do you feel stagnant? Are you a big fish in a small pond? Don’t stay in that small pond – go into the ocean and you’ll see that you’re not the biggest fish. It can be scary and intimidating, but also inspiring.
Anywhere you can learn something new is an opportunity to be humbled. Take a class, be open to a new experience, learn a new skill. Search for something greater than whatever you have right now. It can even be a conversation that generates excitement or an experience that intimidates you. Spend time in nature. Think about how you are a part of this planet. “Without me, these trees, rocks, insects, birds, and flowers still exist.” Connecting with nature can be humbling when you realize the world is bigger than you. Listen to those feelings of intimidation, embarrassment, or humiliation. Acknowledge them, try to cope with them, and grow from it.
Lessons Learned out of Sacrifice
The fighter pilot section of the astronaut training manual is called “The Bold Face” section. Within this there are sections written in bold because a pilot lost their life to learn that lesson. Bolding the text highlights its importance so ASCANS know that understanding that information literally means life or death. Emphasizing those sections tells the reader that then need to pay attention to it or it can result in another loss.
What are the bold face sections of your life? What happened that is worthy of being written down and not just stored in our fading memories? What are the lessons you learned from those experiences with loss, tragedy, or pain? When these things happen in our lives, It’s important we learn the lessons from them because of how painful they were, so we can avoid them or cope better in the future.
How to Learn and KEEP Lessons Learned from Painful Experiences
People either don’t take the time to reflect, or they do but don’t keep the lesson. Although you can’t always avoid the difficulties and challenges of life, you can learn how to deal with them in a way that’s healthy and productive, and possibly even reducing the amount of emotional pain.
Step 1: Be aware. What happened? How did you feel? Did you learn anything new about yourself or the world around you? Acknowledge how you feel and sit with those feelings without judgment. Some people will try to shove down or ignore those emotions because they’re not accepting reality. This doesn’t allow you to learn anything from those experiences, and prevents you from growing and being able to handle difficult situations in the future.
Step 2: Write it down. It can be on paper, in a journal, or digitally – somewhere where you can go back to those notes and remember what happened and what you learned so you can move forward in a productive way. We’re only human and it’s easy to forget things, even ones that seem monumental at the time.
Step 3: Talk to your therapist and self-reflect. That is how you learn and hold onto the lessons made out of sacrifice. This helps you gain insight and connect with yourself so you can navigate future challenges and painful experiences.
Shifting Your Perspective
Astronauts spend most of their time inside the ISS looking through the window. It’s like being in a New York City high rise sitting at your desk looking out the window. But when they get the opportunity to “spacewalk”, being in a suit outside – in space – it’s a totally different experience. They went from looking at the view to being in the view itself. “The experience may only be 1 meter away, but it’s a wildly different experience.” This small shift changes their entire perspective.
It’s important to recognize that 1 meter can make a huge difference. Small movements and shifts can actually change your perspective, leading to big changes in your life. You might be thinking, “You’re telling me my whole life is going to change just because of this one change?” As therapists, we try to explain that we’re only asking you to move a meter to the right or left – not make big sweeping changes in your life overnight. But a single meter can be an extremely different experience. Be open to the small changes in life that might yield a change in perspective, or some of the biggest changes or results. Be open to changing your perspective on things. You might have a strong opinion on something today, but consider taking a different viewpoint and see how that affects your life.
Making changes and shifting your perspective doesn’t have to be life altering in and of itself. It can be as small as drinking one less can of beer, which may lead you to seeing wildly different results in the evening. Send one less text to someone you shouldn’t be texting (limiting contact for self-preservation). Pick up the guitar one more time. Play video games for one hour less or even one hour more. Journal. Go for a five minute walk. You don’t have to add new things to your life to make change. You can slightly adjust what you’re already doing to make big changes.
Exposure Therapy
NASA trains their astronauts by exposing them to the same conditions they’ll experience in space. They use training methods that induce dizziness and nausea, exposing them to what they’re not used to so they can acclimate. Some people may think that if an ASCAN gets dizzy and throws up that they can’t handle it, they’re not qualified, or the training should stop. But the truth is, most if not all ASCANs experience this. It strengthens them, but it often requires some form of exposure to the thing they don’t want to be exposed to. This helps prepare them for the extreme environments they’ll encounter on space ships, on the ISS, and in space itself. At first it’s grueling and forces them to be exposed to something they didn’t want to be exposed to. But the whole point is to strengthen them so when they experience the real thing, they are ready and can handle it.
Exposure therapy uses the same method as training astronauts to help their clients cope with situations in the real world. Therapists will expose their clients to pressure and discomfort in a safe and controlled environment to help them increase their tolerance for that discomfort. This will help strengthen their ability to cope with similar situations in the real world.
For example, if someone wants to be perceived as hardworking and intelligent, they may put an extreme pressure on themselves to be perfect to the point where that pressure makes them feel sick and anxious. This is especially true if you have a controlling personality. I might prescribe them to misspell a word in an email intentionally. If they feel comfortable, they can tell their manager or boss that they’ve been prescribed to do so. You don’t have to be perfect to be valuable and needed.
Needing to have control over everything can lead to anxiety. So just like NASA training simulations to help prepare for difficult experiences, I may prescribe that your partner chooses your outfit for the next day. Not having control over your outfit may lead to feelings of discomfort, but it’s a strategic and safe loss of control. If the outfit thing seems silly and easy, we’ll move up to something more difficult. Exposure therapy conditions your body and mind to the loss of control. It hardens and prepares you for future hurdles.
Exploring Yourself Through Therapy
Space exploration and therapy are all about learning new things and discovery. Therapy helps you understand and connect with yourself on a deeper level. You’ll learn new things about yourself you never even knew were there. If you are curious about therapy or curious about how to make changes in your life, I offer a free 20-minute consultation. Contact Fernando Campos to get started.
