"Failure is not an option"
In April 1970 the Apollo 13 manned mission to the moon was in day two of its flight when the oxygen tank in the service module was ruptured, disabling the electrical and life support system. This was a catastrophic event that very nearly saw the three men crew unable to return to Earth and at best suffer appalling conditions of cold, wet and rising carbon dioxide levels.
The crew moved across to the lunar module and Mission Control worked tirelessly to find a viable solution to enable a safe return. The Flight director at NASA Gene Kranz was famously reported to have said
"I don't want to know what we can't do, I want to know what we have that we can work with. Failure is not an option."
Under the advice of the ground crew, the astronauts rigged up a system of hoses and a square connector to fit into the round holes of the lunar module environmental system and the crew safely and somewhat incredibly managed a safe return to Earth.
Gene Kranz entitled his autobiography "Failure is not an option" although this phrase was supposedly coined by a screenwriter for the movie.
However, this serves as a really useful example of how looking at something differently can save the day.
If you are faced with a difficult situation in life, that appearsto be insurmountable, it can help to think about what you have that can make the situation better, not what you haven't got. By working with and making the best of what is available to you, success is much more likely than dwelling upon what you can't do.
One of the things that we do at Maxwell coaching is to find the positives in life and work with that. Finding inner strengths and hidden potential are the keys to successfully making the best of life and achieving success. We all have tendencies to imagine that life is easier for others, that they have natural talents, are stronger, healthier, fitter, richer or more capable than we are, but in reality, we all have abilities that need to be nurtured and practised to emphasise the talents that we do have.
We can help you to find your potential, capitalise upon your strengths and foster a sense of positive attitude.
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