Break Insurmountable Problems Down

 

If you found yourself trapped on a mountain peak in frigid temperatures wearing only a sweater and shorts with possible rescue 8 hours away how would you survive?

That is exactly the dilemma Professor Denis Shackel found himself after his brother in law slipped and died on a New Zealand mountain peak according Wallace Immen in his feature When a Challenge Seems Too Big Break It Down in the June 10, Globe and Mail.

Immen writes that Professor Shackel decided that the only way he was going to survive the eight hour overnight wait in minus 30 degree temperatures was to break the problem down into five second internals while keep a clear vision of being alive watching the sun come up the next morning.

He started counting to five between each icy breath while keeping his long-range goal of seeing that morning sun clearly in his mind. Eight hours later the helicopter rescue crew took him off the mountain alive.

Shackel believes you can protect yourself from failure while working to reach any goal by breaking it down into smaller parts like this and is now teaching success techniques to others using his experience as an illustration

More information about Schakel and his program can be found in the Friday, June 4, 2010 edition of the Globe and Mail in the Careers section.