words mean things

 Astronaut Chris Hadfield discusses the mission-critical ammonia leak on the International Space Station. I am struck by the fact that he can speak Russian, so he can communicate with his crewmates, and the calmness of the voices from the actual incident. He talks of service before self in a way that I hope resonates with people - as much as he wants to be the one to go outside for the spacewalk and repair, as commander he recognizes there are others who are better suited to the task.

He also talks about how years of training has changed how one thinks and reacts to situations, a reprogramming, if you will...but not a negative one.

My summary of his takeways -

Build your skill set and then act on it - trust yourself. Shit will happen, that is normal. Use your life to prepare for that shit. Nothing is perfect, you can always improve. When the shit is over, look back and determine what you could do better. The next crisis can include that knowledge in your toolkit

sidenote - views from space are stunning. The green envelope of light that dances over the world is almost unbelievable