Exploring Courage

In general, do you believe you largely control your own destiny, or do you believe 

Write a short essay that explores two specific instances in your life, one when you went along with the crowd and the other when you went your own way. Consider the outcomes of both cases. Were the results favorable to you Describe the ways in which the instances are or are not representative of the way you now generally handle such situations. Do you believe you have largely internal or external locus of control If you could change this aspect of your personality, would you, how, and why  

---

An internship at Letterman Hospital in San Francisco came next. In July, I crossed the country in my recently acquired beat-up 1948 convertible Studebaker and arrived in San Francisco feeling like a courageous pioneer. I delivered 50 babies, performed two appendectomies, and spent my free time cruising the Officers Club for female companionship, which was readily available. I could hardly fcresee that in four years, my life would change dramatically and I would become a real pioneer, exploring the vast, secret world of chemical warfare at an obscure Army installation called Edgewood Arsenal. 

Palmer, Parker J. 1998. The courage to teach Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher s life San Francisco Jossey Bass. 

Confusion arises when lack of direction creates fear of an undetermined future. Courage is going forward when you don t know which way to go. Parents need to avoid the double message "We want you to make your own choices, but we don t want you to make the wrong ones." Instead, acceptance of uncertainty would help "It takes exploring, and trial-and-error learning, for people to figure out what they want to do in life."... 

We have then encountered the same six dimensions, N, A, 3D, 3d, t, St in an area of science totally different from kinetic gas theory, and it gives us courage to use the dimensional sextet in further explorations. 

At the heart of creativity is love— a love that mobilizes and magnetizes individuals as well as teams. So when spirit is employed dming creativity or work, we are touching love. This is a whole different aspect that hasn t really been explored in business and cannot be exploited imtil we re willing to have the courage to explore it within ourselves. 

On that particular day, I expected to welcome home seven courageous individuals who chose as their mission in life to push the boundaries of what is and what can be, explorers of the same ilk and fervor as Lindbergh, Lewis and Clark, Columbus, and the Wright Brothers. But on that particular day I witnessed tragedy. We were reminded that exploration is truly a risky endeavor at best, an endeavor that seven individuals considered worthy of risking the ultimate sacrifice as they pursued the advances in the human condition that always stem from such pursuits. 

And there on the shuttle landing strip at the Kennedy Space Center as I stood with the Columbia families, I also witnessed extraordinary human courage. Their commitment to the cause of exploration served as inspiration in the agonizing days, weeks, and months that were to come. 

---