NEWPOWA X PACIFIC DISCOVERY (PART 10)

Newpowa X Pacific Discovery

Part 10: What’s The Team’s Mindset & Morale With 2 Months To Go?

With less than two months to go until the start of the race, the crew of Pacific Discovery are completing last-minute tasks and are preparing both mentally and physically for their important mission. With all this last-minute preparation, let’s hear firsthand from our friend Celo over at Pacific Discovery regarding what the crew’s mindset and morale are looking like as we draw closer to race day with each passing day.

What’s The Team’s Mindset?

“We’ve come a long way. 18 months behind us and with over 900 completed tasks, the focus is narrowing down. With the boat now on its way to the start line in California, the team’s efforts are directed toward training, both physically and mentally.

The physical demands of rowing the Pacific are immense, and we want to ensure we are in the best possible shape for the challenges that lie ahead…The psychological toll of such a grueling challenge cannot be underestimated, and the crew must be mentally strong and resilient to overcome the inevitable obstacles and setbacks they will face along the way.

One of the key components of mental preparation was to come up with a common goal. At the same time, we need to not forget to appreciate that the goal is not static. Individuals evolve, the team evolves, and the goal follows. We’re trying to combat this dynamic aspect by always keeping the goal part of the conversation.”

The Crew’s Morale

“Despite the crew’s positive attitude and strong sense of purpose, morale can sometimes take a hit during such an arduous journey. To combat this, the team has developed strategies to catch this and course-correct it as early as possible. The framework we’re using is the emotional check-in. We do it at the beginning of every weekly meeting. It consists of rating your emotional well-being on a scale from 1-10 and attaching to that some drivers (e.g. work, sleep, kids) which can have both a positive and a negative impact. The importance of this practice only grows when you add to the equation sleep deprivation, pain, and sea sickness so the rowing crew will implement it every day. It will set the stage for being open and honest first with ourselves, and then with others.

The team’s mindset and morale are key factors for a successful crossing, and we feel like we have the right tools and behaviors in place to achieve our dream of crossing the ocean together!”