One small habit built, one major leap for leaders.

In Episode 4 of this series of the PiXL Pearls, Rachel Johnson explores the lesser-known side of astronaut Chris Hadfield’s story. Not the rockets and headlines, but the rituals, humour and learning that kept him steady when the stakes were highest.

Selected for Canada’s space programme without any certainty of ever flying, Hadfield ‘turned himself into’ an astronaut through manuals, drills and hundreds of checklists. He was stress‑tested for claustrophobia, rehearsed disaster scenarios and even prepared for the emotional anti‑climax that follows life in orbit. Yet his anchor was simple: find signs of home, sweat the small stuff and create small moments of joy.

This episode shows how comfort is built, not found. It explores why leaders benefit from grounding themselves in what is familiar when everything feels uncertain, and why anticipating problems is not worrying but productive, because as Hadfield reminds us, ‘every single thing that you learn really just gives you more comfort’.

Tune in to get calm not complacent – because pressure may be unavoidable, but the comfort you design through habits, perspective and preparation can be exceptional.

Listen to Comfort and download the free resources on our website to deepen your reflections.



If you enjoyed PiXL Pearls...

 

Check out the PiXL website: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.pixl.org.uk/⁠⁠⁠ for free downloads

 

Read Rachel's three books: 

⁠⁠⁠ Time to Think 1: The Things that stop us and how to deal with them⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Time to Think 2: The Things that stop our teams and what to do about them⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠ Box Clever: Quadrants to change the way we live and lead⁠⁠⁠

 

Listen to the PiXL Leadership Bookclub.

⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe on Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe on Spotify⁠⁠⁠

 

PiXL Pearls are short reflections on life and leadership which inspire, encourage, motivate and challenge thinking. The series is hosted by Rachel Johnson (PiXL CEO), who draws on literature, life and experience in leadership to explore different elements of what it is to be a good leader and how we can become even better leaders, both in and out of schools.

PiXL Pearls Podcast is a We Are In Beta Production.

PiXL is a partnership organisation of thousands of schools, colleges and alternative education providers spanning KS1-5. Find out more about how you could gain value from a PiXL subscription: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.pixl.org.uk/membership⁠⁠

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