Mental Health and the Polar Explorers
Mental Health Day had me thinking about the polar expeditions of the late 18Th and early 19Th century.
Explorers in the Antarctic faced shipwreck, freezing (-35f) temperature, starvation, deadly frostbite and falls, drowning, death of shipmates, months with no sun or contact with friends of family, decisions that hurt to make and crushed to follow, but the biggest issue for the crews - melancholy- loneliness - hopelessness.
The job was hard, they were hard, they volunteered to be there, they were talented, they were tough, but mental health impacted everyone of them- regardless if it was their first expedition, the fourth, or the rank- mental health was the main issue. Many broke, some broke temporarily, all struggled at times.
Ship captains knew mental health was the big hurdle so they organized Treats, celebrations, ship and land games, but every adventure was a gamble.
Hope and morale were needed not just to succeed but survive. Same in corporate.
The biggest strategic move for mental health was careful selection of the team and talents. They searched for men with unending cheerfulness in the most desperate spots even when starving while knowing there low/no chance of surviving.
Enter Irishman Tom Crean. A rock for crews. Polar Veteran and constant first pick for Captains. Physically and mentally solid.
You want: “The (person) who will make
a joke when there is no fuel left, only one biscuit each, and the next depot 30 miles away. When things go wrong you must have (people) who will laugh and put them right, not people who will accept the situation and do nothing.”
Crean endured things that woulda sent others “clean out of their minds”- how? He had “an incorrigible sense of humor and it was in this that carried him and others - there should be an Irishman in every expedition” said Foster Stackhouse.
I hope you all have the time to rest and recharge this weekend.
Remember, it’s not only ok to let others know you are struggling with something - it’s crucial. Even better when leaders share their struggles because they are not superhuman or unfeeling - and discuss how they themselves got or get through it.
Lastly, that mental health is a dynamic status to monitor - not an excuse for not performing - things still need to be done - but rather a possible explanation and solvable hurdle. Sometimes a quick breathing during the journey is necessary, other times it’s better to stop and do something else for reasons of physical and mental health, and often it’s best to take stock, control the chaos not spread it and be uplifted or uplift.
With the right team, especially a few Creans among them=more sustainable wins through all the tough slogs. "The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet, notwithstanding, go out to meet it" -Thucydides. No one is brave all the time - but with the right mindset+team= it's all possible.
Cheers+good luck!
