Philosophy for Polar Explorers

Reading has always been a hobby of mine, but in April I decided that skimming through a book was not enough and I need to write up a review every time I finish reading one, to serve as an opportunity for me to reflect on what I learned from it. Regrettably, I’m just starting to write the second review three months later. Summer in Boston is too short to waste, and I try to stay outdoors as much as possible. Luckily, Philosophy for Polar Explorers is as light and interesting as any book can be, and you can finish it in one sitting or intermittently during a few commutes.

The book is a very nice continuation of Why Buddhism is True. In fact, I could imagine this book being called Why Buddhism is True — with Anecdotes and Illustrations by the Polar Explorer Erling Kagge. While the first one discusses Buddhist concepts such as “not-self” and “emptiness” with relevant discoveries in evolutionary psychology, this book gives concrete examples of living according to these principles, the author’s extraordinary experiences in polar expeditions rendering them even more convincing.

The book is divided into sixteen chapters, each covering one principle the author lives by. I find all of them very practical in daily life, but the first one sets the foundation of all. It is called “Setting My Own Compass”. The idea is that although we all are associated with many relationships and obligations, it is crucial to realize that it is I that makes my own choices. It is always easy to follow social conventions or cater to the preferences of our family and friends, but harder to take dreams and regrets out of us even though the chances have slipped long past. So throw away all the “I should”s, “they expect me to”s, “what would they say”s. The only way to live is to live for myself, through myself, and by myself. I (and maybe God) am the only being that decides how I live.

I have struggled with the second principle since long ago, and it is called “Getting Up Early”. Somewhere in my brain, “getting up early” is wired with the idea of pain, together with “workout” and “no sugar”. I know very well that getting up early gives me a beautiful morning, a productive day, and a good feeling about myself, but the moment my alarm goes off, laziness (without a better word to describe it) seizes hold of me and I swiftly retreat my arms into the comfort of warm duvets. That definitely rewards me instantly with more sleep, but the horror comes after. Acne, regrets, and tight deadlines follow the action of “putting things off”, and they will keep coming until the cycle is breached. Therefore the author advises — to get up early, despite where I am and what I did the evening before.

The third piece of advice is “Training Myself in Optimism”. I know what you might be thinking. No, the book does not advocate acts of sheer folly. Rather, it teaches “flexible optimism”, which means — to be as optimistic as you want when there’s little to lose, and practically pessimistic when the stakes are high. Over the years I formed the habit of estimating the worst possible outcome and using that to decide the next best action. It works incredibly well to dissolve my fear when it is unnecessary and to make me extra cautious when it is the right time to be. Consider the fear of public speaking, or of messing up an important project. It might be intimidating at times, but the stakes are much lower than everyday tasks such as driving to the grocery. Oftentimes, it is useful to believe that “I’m good at it until proven otherwise”.

Then comes the idea of “Learning Not to Fear Greatness”. It starts with learning not to fear our own greatness, not to underestimate our potential, and not to overwhelm ourselves with the risks of failure. A side effect of this is not fearing greatness in other people. Other people’s achievements no longer dwarf us — we can still feel good about ourselves while being happy for our friends.

Chapter five is about “Not Mistaking Probability for Possibility” — the name is very self-explanatory — followed by one of my favorite chapters “Courage Can’t Be Kept in a Thermos”. I envy people who are inherently courageous, but it gladdens me to read that “courageous is not something we are, it’s something we become”. Even for adventurers like Erling Kagge, being courageous is a challenge every time the need arises. It’s also not just reserved for polar expeditions but needed on a daily basis. There are many forms of adventures in life that require courage, such as choosing a new job, starting a family, or as simple as talking to the grocer in a foreign language. My life coach used to tell me that each person is made up of many parts, and each time when a situation appears, we can call forth the courageous part in ourselves. In many scenarios, I have tried saying “Come forward, Wendy the Brave” to myself, and it has worked every time. I believe that anyone can be sorted to Gryffindor as long as they want to.

Chapter seven is called “Having Something to Lose”. I underlined the sentence “Humans need challenges, moments that make us feel like we have to earn the gift of life” because it felt so true. Many friends told me that they enjoyed hiking because of the challenge. They are pushed past the point of no return and have to keep going until they earn the gift of resting. During all that time, no other thoughts shroud our busy minds, as neither the future nor the past concern us anymore. The present is all we have. The challenges drive us closer to the truth of the world.

And that great lesson is followed by another chapter “Learning Not to Chase Happiness” that emphasizes the idea of being present. Remember that chapter talks about “setting your own compass”? You have to set your compass, because only in that way can you find your own happiness. There’s no standard answer for where to find happiness, as there are many forms of happiness, as well as many meanings for life. In fact, if you have to chase it, you are certainly not going to find it. The secret lies in trying to realize our full potential and being very present in our current life.

Earlier this year I wrote in my diary: “I have wondered why I go on these trips with many people, and here’s one answer — to get away from myself. To get away from my usual thoughts, to leave the comfortable environment that I set up for myself, and to avoid songs in my playlists. I put the control in someone else’s hands, look at other people’s worlds, and see if they (other ways of life) work for me before returning happily to my own home, all the more aware of the importance of little things in everyday life.” And that is what chapter 9 — “Learning to Be Alone” — talks about. I secretly distrust people who are unable to spend time with themselves, because on the other hand, being alone teaches how to separate things that matter more from things that matter less, and teaches us how to accept ourselves as well as the people around us.

“Enjoying Small Helpings” reminds me of the simple joy of eating candy as a child. Things never taste the same after you grow up, do they? Whenever I indulge in a big feast, the first bite always feels so good while the last bite barely interests me anymore. Of course, we are all familiar with the concept of diminishing returns, and I find that particularly useful when I persuade myself not to place another order online.

Then comes “Accepting Failure” which sounds a lot like cliche. The lesson holds true — we learn more from failures than from success. Just don’t let them prevent us from trying. As we grow older, we will start to regret more of the things we didn’t do over the things we did. So go ahead. Either we fail or we succeed. Both can be fruitful and formative to who we are.

The next two chapters are, in my opinion, the most interesting of them all. “Finding Freedom in Responsibility” brushes off the idea of living in a fantasy Barbie world. People don’t naturally walk with their heels in the air, and we do have weird feet. In fact, trying to live a responsibility-free life doesn’t get us anywhere. Choosing the easiest road indeed limits the choices we could have had, and it means the opposite of freedom. Freedom comes from “making the best of the situation in which we find ourselves”. Sometimes that means chores and burdens; sometimes that means having to deal with cat poop and hairballs on a daily basis.

“Making Flexibility a Habit” stresses the importance of routines. I always enjoy living a flexible lifestyle and acting to whimsical ideas, but forming habits can make things much easier from time to time. Being spontaneous means you have to check in with yourself every time a new situation arises or a new decision needs to be made. However, during times when I’m under pressure, or simply too exhausted to think, spontaneity becomes too costly, and some established habits can really save the day. Deadlines and daily routines also guarantee productivity to some degree. If I’m always working in bursts of energy, even one small task might have to wait all week. After all, routines make the once-in-a-while impulsive actions all the more fun.

Chapter 14 talks about “Being Proactive with Luck”. Different from random luck such as winning a lottery, “systematic luck” is the subject of the chapter. One couldn’t imagine good things always come their way, but one can always prepare themselves for all kinds of outcomes. Of course, it would be difficult to foresee every eventuality, but we can definitely limit the number of awkward circumstances through preparation. From my job, I learned that the key to a good presentation is preparation — that means, I need to consider all possible reactions people would have when they see the slides. I need to work on the presentation such that the story makes sense and I can handle most of the questions thrown at me. In leisure time, a good trip also requires a previous check on the temperature, an extra umbrella in the car, and so on. As people say, the devil is in the details.

Then come the last two chapters. “Allowing Goals to Come to Me” advises people to allow themselves time before achieving their goals. Some dreams never come true and that’s okay. Now allow things to happen of their own accord. “Resetting the Compass” tells us not to despair when our goal is reached. The last sentence might sound crazy but think about that strange feeling when the exams are over, or when the kids are finally off to college. No doubt you are happy, but you also kind of feel like an empty balloon. You need time to adjust and find new goals again. And that’s also okay—

All in all, I find the lessons in this book very useful in dealing with the nitty-gritty of daily life. I also need to come up with an immediate actionable, i.e. to carve out a good schedule to follow. It involves:

Go to sleep before midnight, and start the next day early

Keep exercising to make myself happy

Be very conscious of sugar intake

We will see how it goes —