An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth
Chris Hadfield is down-to-Earth, humble, honest, accomplished, and—among many other things—has a fantastic sense of humor, making this a fascinating read filled with valuable life lessons. I appreciate that he doesn’t sugarcoat the more unpleasant aspects of space, yet still finds a way to put a positive spin on them. He knew that the odds of going to space were extremely low, so his sense of personal fulfillment was never based on that. Big themes throughout his life have been the square astronaut round hole dilemma, sweating (and enjoying) the small stuff, and aiming to be a zero.
Veridct: Highly recommend.
Notes
- Square astronaut, round hole is about “trying to figure out where I want to go when just getting out the door seems impossible”, referencing how awkward getting out the door for a space walk can be, when we often imagine it as being graceful.
- You aren’t destined to achieve your goals, you have to actively work towards them. Fortunately, you can start immediately by imagining what the person you want to become would do. Astronaut core skill of being able “to parse and solve complex problems rapidly, with incomplete information, in a hostile environment” is not something they’re born with, it’s developed on the job.
- Hadfield mindset on becoming an astronaut: “It’s probably not going to happen, but I should do things that keep me moving in the right direction, just in case—and I should be sure those things interest me, so that whatever happens, I’m happy.”
- Big part of expeditions is learning to develop new instincts, ways of thinking, and habits.
- Competence is necessary for anyone who strives to succeed at anything. It means “keeping your head in a crisis, sticking with a task even when it seems hopeless, and improvising good solutions to tough problems when every second counts. It encompasses ingenuity, determination and being prepared for anything.”
- Attitude that CH might never go to space, or ever go back after he did, helped keep his 20+ year career satisfying. Keeps CH headed in the right direction and is the #1 thing you can control.
- Success is “feeling good about the work you do throughout the long, unheralded journey that may or may not wind up at the launch pad”.
- “Be ready. Work. Hard. Enjoy it!”
- Hadfield on training: “we learn how to do things that contribute in a very small way to a much larger mission but do absolutely nothing for our own career prospects. We spend our days studying and simulating experiences we may never actually have”.
- Learning is the point.
- Power of negative thinking: Good way to boost confidence is to simulate and engage fully with disaster. CH thinks through what to do if things go wrong.
- Work astronauts do is far more important than they are as individuals.
- If striving for excellence, no such thing as over-preparation.
- Viewing criticism as potentially helpful rather than a personal attack is a big plus in any field.
- Insert beautiful space description here.
- “Early success is a terrible teacher. You’re essentially being rewarded for a lack of preparation, so when you find yourself in a situation where you must prepare, you can’t do it. You don’t know how”.
- Expeditionary behavior choose what’s best for the group, don’t choose to wallow in misery.
- Don’t complain—it’s contagious and unproductive.
- Big life lessons:
- Never ridicule a colleague, even with an offhand remark, no matter how tempting it is or how hilarious the laugh line.
- Don’t snap at the people who work with you. When you see red, count to 10.
- The more senior you are, the greater the impact your flippant comment will have.
- Focus on the journey, not on arriving at a certain destination. Keep looking to the future, not mourning the past.
- As astronaut, not much free time, so when you have it you need to “make choices that clearly communicate gratitude to your family and a desire to see them, on their terms, every once in a while”.
- Have a plan that breaks down what you want to do into small, concrete steps.
- “There’s nothing more important than what you’re doing right now” and ask “what could kill me next”.
- On elevator, guy expected others to press button for him bc he felt that he was above them. If you think of yourself as An Astronaut, A Doctor, A Whatever and act that way everyone else sees you as that arrogant guy, craving significance.
- Aim to be zero, even if you are a plus one “You will almost certainly be viewed in one of three ways. As a minus one: actively harmful, someone who creates problems. Or as a zero: your impact is neutral and doesn’t tip the balance one way or the other. Or you’ll be seen as a plus one: someone who actively adds value”. Be quietly competent and helpful. If needed, be there in an instant, but never elbow others out of the way and make others feel small. Don’t have to tell anyone if you’re a plus one, they’ll already know.
- On new environments: Best way to contribute is “not by trying to prove what a wonderful addition you are. It’s by trying to have a neutral impact, to observe and learn from those who are already there, and to pitch in with the grunt work wherever possible”.
- Why people are interested in space “people are inherently interested in other people. They care about the big picture, yes, but they’re enthralled by the human aspects of space exploration, the minutiae of daily life on board the ISS”.
- Unexpected pleasures of life Life is full of so many small, unexpected pleasures, not just in space but right here on Earth, and I think I see them more clearly now than I used to because microgravity insists you pay attention.
- Loneliness “I think, has very little to do with location. It’s a state of mind. In the center of every big, bustling city are some of the loneliest people in the world”.
- Important commonalities between life on Earth and in Space: “You can choose to focus on the surprises and pleasures, or the frustrations. And you can choose to appreciate the smallest scraps of experience, the everyday moments, or to value only the grandest, most stirring ones”.
- You get better at the things you practice doing.
- On disappointment and leadership “All this went through my head and heart for a minute or two, then I made a resolution: I was not going to hint that I’d had this pang of envy, or say, even once, that I wished I was doing the EVA. Ultimately, leadership is not about glorious crowning acts. It’s about keeping your team focused on a goal and motivated to do their best to achieve it, especially when the stakes are high and the consequences really matter. It is about laying the groundwork for others’ success, and then standing back and letting them shine”.
- Don’t rest until job is done “if you start anticipating the finish line, chances are that you’ll let up and then you could make mistakes—ones that could be fatal in my line of work”.
- Small stuff “If you start thinking that only your biggest and shiniest moments count, you’re setting yourself up to feel like a failure most of the time. Personally, I’d rather feel good most of the time, so to me everything counts: the small moments, the medium ones, the successes that make the papers and also the ones that no one knows about but me. The spotlight moves on, and astronauts need to, too. If you can’t, you’ll wind up hobbled by self-importance or by the fear that nothing else you do will ever measure up”.
- Environment “We need to take a longer-term view of the environment and try to make things better wherever we can”.
- Fulfillment “The truth is that I find every day fulfilling, whether I’m on the planet or off it. I work hard at whatever I’m doing, whether it’s fixing a bilge pump in my boat or learning to play a new song on the guitar. And I find satisfaction in small things, like playing Scrabble online with my daughter, Kristin—we always have a game going—or reading a letter from a first grader who wants to be an astronaut, or picking gum wrappers up off the street”.
- Endings “Endings don’t have to be emotionally wrenching if you believe you did a good job and you’re prepared to let go”.