Adventurer, pioneer, innovator, at the same time doctor and explorer, Bertrand Piccard is "a voice listened to within the largest institutions which today consider him to be an influential opinion leader on the themes of progress and sustainability". Son of oceanographer Jacques Piccard and grandson of physicist Auguste Piccard, he made the first round-the-world balloon ride in 1999 with British pilot Brian Jones. He also co-developed and co-piloted the Solar Impulse solar aircraft, with which he toured the world between March 2015 and July 2016, with only one tank of fuel.
SAsked many times for some advice to follow to survive confinement and forced isolation during the Covid-19 crisis, Bertrand Piccard chose to write 10 tips which helped him to live several weeks of his life confined in a solar balloon or in the cockpit of an airplane. We invite you to discover these ten tips from the article written in English for the Solar Impulse Foundation.
Avoid projecting yourself into the future
Do not hope that it will be over soon ... Counting the remaining days can quickly become torture. Focus in the present moment, become aware of what you are doing, thinking and feeling, perceiving that you exist throughout your body. A month or two at home can go by very quickly!
Find your "safe place"
It is important to have an interior experience of comfort and security. Developing a protective cocoon in visual, auditory or sensory form is the most useful baggage that Bertrand has taken with him on my expeditions.
Realize that this experience is unique
History will remember it and you are all, each at your own level, writing it.
Put your personal situation on a larger scale
Millions of people are going through the same thing as you right now. You are not alone.
Perceive the meaning of these moments
Containment is useful, it protects you and protects others, and that is paramount. Abused political prisoners are more likely to recover from their trauma when they experience their captivity as being linked to the cause they are defending. By traveling in a cramped cockpit Bertrand Piccard had an intention, that of promoting renewable energies, and that helped him to hold on.
Define the mindset you want to adopt
It is a choice that you must make consciously. Crisis or challenge? Test or teaching? A crisis that we accept becomes an adventure, with a goal to achieve. An adventure that we refuse becomes a crisis, with suffering ...
Accept the situation
Refusing an irreversible situation generates suffering. Accepting reality will help reduce your stress levels.
Courage or confidence?
When faced with a problem that is beyond you, courage will allow you to overcome fear, but confidence will take you further. You will be aware of this when circumstances force you to leave your usual references, and find that you have somewhere within you all the resources to move forward and be successful.
Learn to communicate
We live too much outside of ourselves rather than inside. If you are confined alone, relearn how to communicate with yourself. It is something that you have lost in the leisure and distraction society that you scatter into. Being alone becomes a revelation as soon as you start listening to your inner life again. If you are confined with othersThis is an opportunity to discover another way of communicating, not to exchange opinions which can become conflicting, but to express your feelings and emotions. Share your own experiences and take an interest in those of your neighbor, without criticism or reproach.
“In conclusion, everything I advise you here does not come alone. You have to learn it, practice it, repeat it. It is learning a new way of relating to oneself, to others and to life. You have time to do it now, so why deprive yourself? Once the confinement is over, the saddest thing would be to tell you that you did not take enough advantage of it to evolve… ”
Adapted from text written in English by Bertrand Piccard, psychiatrist and explorer, author of "Changer d'Altitude, some solutions to better live your life" published by Stock.
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