203 Quotes by Chris Hadfield

The whole process of becoming an astronaut helped me understand that what really matters is not the value someone else assigns to a task but how I personally feel while performing it.

When I stand on the edge of a cliff or right at the edge of a building or something, it’s one of the few things that gives me kind of a deep, overwhelming, irrational fear where it affects my physiology.

That’s one reason these four computers were linked, so they could constantly compare what they were doing. If one did something dumb, the other three could overrule it and shut it down. But if even a tiny timing error developed, two of the four could split off and go rogue – giving the vehicle directions that contradicted what the other two computers were instructing it to do – with no one to break the tie and vote on which pair was right.

Explorers gave their lives trying to find the source of the Nile, but I could detect it with a casual glance, no effort at all.

There’s really just one thing I can control: my attitude during the journey, which is what keeps me feeling steady and stable, and what keeps me headed in the right direction. So I consciously monitor and correct, if necessary, because losing attitude would be far worse than not achieving my goal.

No one wants to go to space with a jerk. But at some point, you just have to accept the people in your crew, stop wishing you were flying with Neil Armstrong, and start figuring out how your crewmates’ strengths and weaknesses mesh with your own. You can’t change the bricks, and together, you still have to build a w.

Success is feeling good about the work you do throughout the long, unheralded journey that may or may not wind up at the launch pad. You can’t view training solely as a stepping stone to something loftier. It’s got to be an end in itself.

You can’t change the bricks, and together, you still have to build a wall.

The ideal entry is not to sail in and make your presence known immediately. It’s to ingress without causing a ripple. The best way to contribute to a brand-new environment is not by trying to prove what a wonderful addition you are. It’s by trying to have a neutral impact, to observe and learn from those who are already there, and to pitch in with the grunt work wherever possible.