Chapter 4

Stamina is definitely one of the things Shackleton lacked, according to the passage in the book. I agree with the author that leaders are no good being too reckless as they will only cause trouble to the team. For example, if the quarterback on my football team suddenly disappears from the field due to a disease or injury, there would not be anyone good enough to replace him. All leaders should be aware that they are the 'only one'. Of course leaders have to work hard, as we discussed in previous chapters, however, overdoing it is not always the solution.

This makes me remember of the questionnaire we did in class the other day. I had 'collaborating' on top of my negotiation style, and then competing, compromising, accommodating, and avoiding, respectively. I guess it clearly shows that whenever I am negotiating, or maybe working in a group and I get stuck, I immediately ask others for help. This is absolutely one lesson I have learned in the past term at ICU. Collaboration was one of the key aspects Rab focused on last term, and I find the concept and tools to make it possible very useful. Sometimes when collaborating is not allowed, such as during and before tests, I would shift to competing. Similarly, I would compromise if either of the top two will not work for a negotiation. This is interesting because I think the questionnaire was very accurate of my actions.

Back to stamina, I think there are two kinds of stamina, even for the mental side. Physically, there are two kinds-- endurance to lactate, and rate of recovery. The former is what athletes that focus on their performance for a short duration are especially capable of. The latter is for people like marathon runners. Just like physical stamina, I think there is short/long term stamina of the heart. In my opinion, stamina is related to goal setting. In spite of having this whole chapter about how Shackleton struggled with his stamina, the story seemed identical to chapter 1 to me. Motivation and stamina are closely related because they are the energy that drive us like the gasoline in the car. We cannot go without it.