None of us could have missed the amazing news this week that all 33 miners who had been trapped under ground for weeks on end, had been rescued and brought safely to the surface.
They had spent ten weeks, trapped 2,041 feet under the desert in Chile. When the mine collapsed on August 5th they had no idea whether they could be saved. Living off meagre rations until they had been found alive seventeen days later, they faced and conquered something incomprehensible to most of us.
Whilst the country worked out a rescue plan, they coped and survived underground. No one can imagine what that could be like, whether arguments happened, or how they worked together to get through such a horrible event. As their stories come out in the following weeks, I am sure we will learn a lot more.
The leader of the miners, Luis Urzua carried his duty through to the end and was the last man to leave the mine, making sure all his men were safely rescued before allowing himself to be winched up. Chile’s President, Sebastian Pinera hailed Urzua for seeing off all his men before ‘leaving last like the ship’s captain’.
The rescue operation took weeks and the drilling to free the men veered off course twice, before a successful third time. I can only imagine what the leader(s) of the rescue workers must have been going through each time the drilling failed. Leading such a team on a life and death rescue attempt would have been challenging and stressful to say the least, so when the third drill was triumphant, euphoria must have followed.
This event was extraordinary and one which has captured the world. We all face stress, although hopefully nothing as awful as what the miners have been through. It can affect us in the workplace and our personal life. Stress has no boundaries and all of us at some point in our life, have it thrust upon us. But what can we do. Here are a few tips on taking charge of stress:
~ Get all the facts
~ Weigh all the facts then come to a decision
~ Once a decision is reached, act!
~ Answer these questions:
What is the problem?
What are the courses of the problem?
What are the possible solutions?
What is the best possible solution?
~ How to face trouble – ask yourself:
What is the worst that can possibly happen?
Prepare to accept the worse
Try to improve the worse
Dale Carnegie wrote the book ‘How to stop worrying and start living’ and if you are interested in finding out more, why not come along to our preview on 4th November.
Helen Mills
Financial Controller
www.london.dalecarnegie.com
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