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> Obviously I did not keep it simple enough for you Todd. You see when I said
> "things were at ther worst" that does not mean "at the first sign of
> trouble". You can talk about character and commitment all you want, but
when
> that "little man" inside your head sees low air, long way from home, limited
> visibility,increasing complications he will make you re-evaluate your
> "interests" and at some point it will become your "interest" to save your own
> ass if the problems on the dive cannot get worked out.
> Lee
The grain of truth in what you say is that a situation may arise
in cave diving (or at any other time in life) when you will feel
profound fear, helplessness, even hopelessness. You may feel like
curling up in a little ball, like lashing out with all your might,
or you may feel like fleeing in the direction of perceived safety.
The BIG LIE in what you say is that you need to concede defeat to
these feelings before they even begin.
The external problems that arise in cave diving are really pretty
simple things. With the proper training we can identify them
before the dive, plan for them, and either prevent them or prepare
ourselves to counter them. The bigger threat comes from internal
problems -- recklessness, fear, overconfidence. Addressing these
things also begins before the dive ("rule #1, option #1").
The buddy team system is the best way to arrest the cascade of
fear a cave diver may start to feel when presented with a serious
situation. First, knowing your buddy is there with additional
mental and physical resources to address the problem at hand can
be a huge help, and the comfort that comes with that is deserved.
Second, focusing excessively on yourself keeps you thinking about
the problems instead of the solutions -- when you come to the aid
of your team, focus shifts to what you can do, not what you can't
do, and your head will begin to clear.
Humans are emotional creatures. The "tough guys" who pretend
otherwise don't get it, and folks who plan to flee when the
emotion comes don't get it either. In any event, while it's
not possible to avoid emotion, it *is* possible to defer an
emotional response until your team is out of harms way.
Know and do your job.
- Todd
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