The book, An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Hadfield (2013), is a first-person tale by the author about his life as an astronaut. It describes the author’s journey as a young Canadian boy who dreamt of becoming an astronaut. Hadfield got the inspiration of becoming an astronaut when he was nine years of age after watching Neil Armstrong on television landing on the moon. He went to study mechanical engineering and flew regular planes. He did all this in the hope and preparation of becoming an astronaut and this paid off one day when the Canadian Space Agency announced in a newspaper advertisement that it required astronauts. This book, however, is more than just a memoir because it talks about his personal development, drive and determination to achieve desired goals. Several lessons can be learned from the book on how to succeed in life and the importance of rigorous training and practice. This essay will discuss the ideas developed by the author about the human need to make a commitment to or renounce a course of action.
The main idea discussed in this book is that, for one to achieve something difficult, one has to focus on the task at hand and apply the Herculean work ethic. The author goes further to stress the importance of making sacrifices even though they may seem like they are not paying off. Hadfield argues that one has to make a great commitment to working insanely hard and to train and retrain until you can be able to do your tasks hand-tied. The author clearly talks about the human need for effort in being committed to whatever task one has been assigned to. For their case as astronauts, they had to train rigorously and even over train and retrain as he puts it which could not have been possible without commitment. Likewise, it is prudent for us to display the same zeal in whatever work to achieve desirable success.
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The author brings out yet another idea in his book; the question of attitude. It is every astronaut’s desire to go to space but still not all manage to do so due to many variables which keep them on land. Things like governmental policies, health, and technology prevent some of them from going to space. However, Hadfield insists that he would still have been happy had he not gotten the chance to go into space and this reveals much about his attitude. The author writes that one should learn on how to visualize failure as that might save a life in space but on Earth; it might help one to attain their goal. Hadfield writes that one does not visualize the best outcome since that leads to the worst outcomes and disasters that were not prepared for since one had not visualized them beforehand. This, therefore, is important in changing the normal course of action where most people just see themselves succeeding instead of visualizing and preparing themselves in case it does not happen.
In addition to these ideas brought out by the book, enjoying the journey despite the fact that one will never reach the destination is another important message in this book. There is a human need to enjoy whatever we do in spite of the challenges experienced or hindrances that may prevent one from achieving their goal. It is attitude and dedication that sustained the author through his journey. From the moment he watched Neil Armstrong land on the moon together with the other boys, he set himself apart and followed his dream to become an astronaut. This is despite the fact that at the time his country did not have astronauts and the odds were stacked against him. The author enjoyed every moment of the numerous training though he knew that he might not be selected to go to space but his passion finally paid off as he was selected and went on to become the leader of his space team. Even when they were hit by a meteorite and had ammonia leak, as a leader he takes control of the situation and helped his team correct the situation and describes how he still enjoyed his work.
The book is very informative and quells people’s curiosity about space travels and how it is to live in space. The author gives us his point of view and important lessons as even the slightest mistake in his line of work could result in fatal accidents. It blends very well the author's story from childhood to adulthood while bringing out important themes. The book has a very important message about the human need to make a commitment to achieve desired goals as discussed above.
Reference
Hadfield, C. (2013) An astronaut's guide to life on earth (1st ed). Little, Brown and Company.
