The Polish Mishap

Before smartphones, international travelers relied on their wits, resourcefulness, and...charades! Join John and Dan Reese as they relive a travel adventure that took an unexpected turn. About our Guests Dan Reese works with nonprofits and government entities to reduce and end youth homelessness. He lives in Bellingham, WA. He is the brother of host John Reese, and they share a father. Main Takeaways from this Episode Redirect Panic Into Problem-solving Energy: Panic can result in amygdala hijack, which can result in us taking action that is out of proportion to the actual issue, potentially creating new problems. It is possible to interrupt this hijack with habits of breathing or other mindfulness techniques. Once you take that moment, you have more space to decide between possible actions. Reach Out to Others for Help: Dan and John reached out to their father for help, and were able to reestablish communication despite neither knowing where the other was. John’s hotel staff were also very helpful. Dan speculates the German train station staff were an untapped resource who could have helped. The world is full of people who can help, if you ask. Don’t Break Up The Party: It’s better to have everyone miss the train together, because you can use your brains together to solve the problem. Form a Mental Model of Your Companions: A model of what your travel companions care about, how they think, what they’re worried about, and what they’re excited about, can be very useful: if you get separated, it can help you predict what they would do and thus help you reconnect; even if you stay together, it can help you be respectful of activities that might be more or less important to them, or more or less stressful. It could also be useful to pregame what you would do in various scenarios. Memory is Unreliable: We tend to overestimate how reliably we remember the past, so it’s often valuable to reconstruct the past in conversation with another person, and be ready to be surprised and amused by the differences. Product Links Thinking Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman Dune by Frank Herbert’s Litany Against Fear Dungeons and Dragons Contact * Follow us at hindsightretros.substack.com * Read more at hindsightretros.com * Email us at [email protected] * Follow us on Instagram @hindsightretros * Follow Sue Lueder on LinkedIn * Follow John Reese on LinkedIn This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hindsightretros.substack.com