Week Two: Thoughts on L@E "Preface"

As promised, I will make blog entries the same as you. This way we can all feel like we are all participating and working together.

As you remember from class yesterday, at the end of the "Preface" in the Expedition Log our author asks if we have ever been in a situation in which we were “stretched to [our] limits of performance or endurance” (xix). You discussed your situations and now I will share mine.

I do have a very dramatic survival story of an experience in Antarctica (Nankyoku Tairiku in Japanese) that involved trying to climb a high mountain and getting lost in a storm in extremely severe conditions. I’ll share this later, but you can click here if this interests you now.

But what I wish to share with you now is my own "survival story" of being Assistant Director of the ELA. 

Administering the ELA can be very challenging. The instructors all come from different nationalities and cultures and everyone seems to have a strong opinion about everything. For a couple of years we went through a reform process, and all these different points of view along with a great deal of factionalism created a highly charged political working environment.

What helped me get through this situation?

Empathy. Trying my best to listen and understand the various points of view was very important. Everyone wants to feel like they are being heard.

Trustworthiness. Creating trust involves being honest, protecting the confidentiality of others and trying always to do what I say I will do.

Optimism. Maintaining my optimism was critical to both success and my sense of well-being. There were occasional very bad days, and weeks, and even terms, but knowing that better times were ahead kept me focused on going forward.

These three qualities—empathy, trustworthiness, and optimism—helped me enormously. But these qualities do not necessarily come naturally, and I had to constantly work at it.

So that is my first text post. I now look forward to hearing from you your reactions to our text and other related experiences you wish to share. For a text related post, consider responding to the same question that I have above, that is, have you been in a situation in which you were “stretched to [your] limits of performance or endurance”? Or anything related to the Shackleton Saga and or Chapter 1.