Lost in Orbit: What Sunita Williams' Detour Can Teach Us About Resilience

What a wicked sense of humour the universe has! NASA astronauts, Sunita Williams, Nick Hague, Aleksander Gorbunov, and Butch Wilmore, who had geared up for their routine stint of 8-days at the International Space Station (ISS), ended up spending over 9 months due to technical delays in the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. A prolonged endurance test for around 290 days and the first assignment in the history of space travel to be that long, surely the universe had a different plan all along.

Williams, a veteran of three previous space missions, has made her return to Earth in a SpaceX Dragon aircraft. But there is something uncannily relatable about this historically extraordinary experience. It is a lesson in patience, adaptability and mental grit.

Often, we run on the naive assumption that life can be textbook-perfect. We lay down plans for the day, for the month, for the next 5 years and across time and space we experience unexpected disruptions. We get ghosted by job recruiters who promised us that dream job. A relationship takes the wrong turn and with heartbreak everything feels like a downhill. In search of that silver lining, we are left with then is a question: Why me?

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Moments like this force a reexamination of the situation; of our expectations. In Williams' case it wasn't sulking or ruminating over the thought "why me?". Instead of seeing herself "stranded", the 59-year-old Williams demonstrated unwavering focus and work ethic. And that's exactly what sets her apart. Afterall, spending nearly a year in zero gravity isn't just a physical challenge - it is a psychological one.

How To Survive Life's Unexpected Curveballs?

Despite the extended stay that wasn't in the manual, the NASA astronauts' journey back to Earth is a lesson in perseverance. It is a great story of reinvention in the face of the unexpected. Here's what we can steal from their playbook:

Don't Stay Stuck, Stay In Motion

The prolonged delay in the return of NASA astronauts wasn't a choice they made, but they did not get demotivated. They still showed up. They still continued with their research rather than fixating on being stranded.

It is easy to feel lost and give up when plans collapse. Find ways to stay engaged instead of wallowing. Consistency keeps the out of control feeling at bay. Learn to adapt and be flexible. People experience a great deal of anxiety because the unplanned presents itself like a curveball. They get caught up in the mental wobble. But when you understand that perhaps only through acceptance of unpredictability, we can build ourselves past the rigid expectations and fears.

When You Change The Way You Look At Things

Someone once said, "When you change the way you look at things, things change". So, reframe the situation when things don't go according to your wishes. While you can't control what's happening, you can control how you see it. A shift in perspective can lead to an opportunity you never expected.

Address and Acknowledge

Before you can say "I am gonna look at this from a different perspective", acknowledge your emotions and address them. Ask yourself, 'why am I feeling so bad about this', 'what can I do differently'. When you process your emotions, you can think clearer. Recognising that no amount of anxiety is going to make any difference is crucial.

Humour Yourself

Setbacks are no one man's fate. We all go through the ropes of success and failures and random detours, sometimes the best response is humouring the absurd. Laugh it off and keep moving.

Just think what if we, too, don't let the life-altering setbacks define us and channel our inner Sunita Williams!