The story of Sir Ernest Shackleton's expedition to Antarctica in 1915 is maybe one of the greatest stories ever told.
At one point, among the many unbelievable circumstances of the story, their boat was destroyed by ice in the frozen sea and the crew had to camp out on an iceberg.
Let that sink in.
They had to abandon a destroyed ship and camp on an iceberg, in the middle of the ocean, near Antarctica where the temperature was regularly under -30 degrees Fahrenheit.
They floated on that iceberg for months trying to survive, before they boarded (in effect) lifeboats to sail across the ocean to try to find land.
And they survived!
Every single person on the crew survived. They were lost in a frozen sea for almost 2 years and they all survived.
When you read a story like this it is easy to almost be dismissive of it.
"Oh yeah, I get it. A story that teaches us the importance of focusing on what we can control and not whining or harping on our troubles. Yeah. I've heard that cliche advice before, nice. I'll keep it in mind though, thanks Ernie."
We all know this is what we SHOULD do.
When life throws us a curveball the best thing we can do is keep our cool and figure out the best next step.
But, it is one thing to understand the concept it is another thing to genuinely believe you are capable of doing it--especially when life gets really hard.
That is what makes this story so impactful for me. It is a proof point for humanity.
When we hear the story of a person that found a way to survive on an iceberg, in -30 degree weather, with no food, and a 28 man crew counting on him--then we know what is possible.
Their clothes were soaking wet and frozen, their bodies were frostbitten, they were malnourished, and at one point they realized they had to march 30+ miles across the iceberg in a blizzard.
It would have been so easy to give up, to turn on each other, or to just get angry at life.
What was not easy was keeping calm and figuring it out. But that's what they did.
If my wi-fi goes down right now, I'd probably handle it worse than Shackleton seemed to handle his situation.
But that's the point.
I am so quick to let myself off the hook because I believe the "right thing" to do isn't actually possible.
Of course I wish I could not lose my sh*t when life gets stressful, and my kid is bugging me, and money is tight, and everything else life throws at me.
But that's not realistic.
Life is hard and that Stoic-advice isn't applicable in real life. It's impossible for me to keep calm and figure it out. There is such a comfort in letting myself off the hook.
But a story like Shackleton's forces me to acknowledge what humans are capable of. It is a proof point that we can't deny.
We are capable of doing better. We are capable of handling the most impossible circumstances life can throw at us.
It isn't easy, but it is possible. And just knowing that should be enough to push us to strive for it.
SAP Senior Consultant HCM und Entwicklung bei cimt ag
1moIt was a fantastic trip, thank you so much