I hope none of us are ever in such dire straits as Mark Watney, the character from the book The Martian by Andy Weir and played by Matt Damon in the movie. Yet, despite Mark’s predicament of being stranded on Mars and his immense loneliness and desperation, he never lost sight of the importance of being a problem solver. Hopefully you are not feeling as if you are stranded on Mars by a conflict, but here are some ideas to use mediation to put a conflict behind you.
1) Prepare for rescue by focusing on the future
Problem solving kept Mark alive on Mars. To be a problem solver, he did not let the past of being abandoned by his crew interfere with what he wanted to achieve for his future. Staying focused on the future is also a good idea with mediation. While the courtroom is the place to explore the past to determine who is to blame, mediation provides the opportunity to look into the future to determine what outcome will feel like a rescue from Mars and give you a future that you can live with.
2) Know your goal
One of the first things Mark had to do was set his sights on his desired outcome, which was to stay alive until the next scheduled Mars landing in about three years (1480 sols). His goal kept him focused on his needs, such as conserving his food, rather than being distracted by his wants of eating a full meal. With mediation, understanding your needs and wants will help you achieve your goal.
3) Think broadly about information
Mark did a thorough job of collecting data about his problems, but even with such diligence, he invariably would forget some important piece of information that would cause havoc to his plans (“Everything went great right up to the explosion,” Mark Watney). Don’t suppress your intuition about what data will help you make good decisions. During a pre-conference phone call, let your mediator know if you need more information to have a productive mediation.
4) Take care of yourself
I was impressed by Mark’s recognition that he had to take care of himself in order to survive. If he became exhausted, he knew that he would not be able to deal with the next life-threatening event. Similarly, pace yourself in mediation. Ask your mediator for a break and go for a short walk to get the creative juices flowing. Make sure that you take care of yourself physically and emotionally.
5) Laugh a little
Of course, the hallmark of Mark’s survival was his sense of humor. If your mediator brings humor into your mediation, use that time to relax and give your brain a rest before getting back to the serious work of resolving your dispute.
Working together
What else can we learn about mediation from The Martian? Think about the phrase, “Let’s work the problem, people,” spoken by Flight Director Gene Kranz played by Ed Harris in the movie Apollo 13.
Image: “Daybreak at Gale Crater” (CC BY 2.0) by NASA Goddard Photo and Video.