A few weeks ago, my coachee Oliver Heer, one of the world’s best sailors, started one of the toughest sailing races ever, the Transat CIC—a 5,500 km solo race from Lorient to New York. We knew it would be tough, but no one expected it to be this tough.
It was nighttime, Oliver was making good speed, the autopilot was on, and he had gone below deck for a 20-minute power nap. Suddenly, there was a jolt—the boat tacked at full speed, the wind pressed the sail into the water to a tilt of 120 degrees, and over 3,000 liters of water rushed in, causing a total electronics failure. In complete darkness in the middle of the Atlantic, Oliver fought for hours to stabilize the boat.
The only problem now 😉 was that his sail area was reduced to 20%, the autopilot was broken, and he was trapped 1,500 km from land, in 3°C air, with no wind or power, wearing soaked clothing.
His team was genuinely worried and contacted me, saying, “Oliver is in a mental crisis—can you talk to him?” We had little time, as the satellite phone only worked briefly. I was nervous but tried to stay calm and said to him: “ “Stop complaining—no matter how tough it is, it is what it is. You are f***g made for this! You’ll get through it once you start accepting it! Embrace this shit!”
He then wrote the three words on his boat’s wall and later said: “This sentence helped me regain my inner strength and successfully finish the race.”
In research, this is called “Radical Acceptance.” It means accepting reality as it is. It does not mean giving up or becoming passive. Rather, it serves as the starting point for creative solutions. Instead of getting stuck in negative emotions, it allows us to think clearly and act anew. Studies show that people who practice radical acceptance not only regulate their emotions better but are also more resilient and creative (see Segal et al., 2023).
Even in our companies, we are currently facing many crises. War, recession, skills shortages, and much more present us with huge challenges. This leads to frustration and constant complaining. But even here, the principle applies: “Embrace this Shit!” The attitude with which we respond to challenges makes the difference. Radical acceptance means regaining control over what we can influence by accepting what we cannot control.
As Viktor Frankl said: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.”
This post was published by Wolfgang Jenewein on LinkedIn on November 16, 2024. Zum Original-Beitrag