Page 18 - 2021 - Q2 - Minerva in Focus

SEAFARER WELLBEING

“

Learn as if you were to live
forever.
Learning can Can our well-being at sea or at home be ”

positively affected by constantly learn-
increase our self- ing new things? M. GANDHI, 1930

Do you believe that it is too late to learn
confidence and how to speak a new language, play a mu- Partners in Safety program. Let’s Talk can
be considered as the natural continuity
sical instrument, apply cardiopulmonary
self-esteem resuscitation, or provide first aid? Is it too of the Resilience program. The Let’s Talk
Module’s goals are to become proactive
late to do new things such as reading a
in improving our mental health by using
classic novel or the biography of a histori-
cal person, writing a story or an article, fix- the available support systems and identi-
ing something broken, cooking new dishes, fying new sources of assistance.
subscribing to a magazine, or undertaking One of the key steps to improving our
a new responsibility on your vessel? mental health is to keep learning. Learn-
It is never too late! There is always time ing is not only associated with acquiring
-even if limited - to start learning some- new knowledge and skills that are nec-
thing new. You might know the Chinese essary for our development and pro-
proverb that says, “The best time to plant gress as seafarers or employees. There
a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best are thousands of ways to bring learning
time is now.” into our life; the questions asked at the
Recent research has shown that learning can beginning of this article show the range
improve and maintain our mental well-be- of learning that gives another meaning
ing by increasing our self-confidence and to our lives.
self-esteem, fostering a connection with Learning is a brain activity in which new
others. People engaged in learning say they knowledge is represented by new brain
feel better about themselves and demon- cell connections. It is only recently that
strate an increased ability to cope with the medical sciences have started to
stress. Learning gives us a sense of purpose understand the way learning occurs in
and achievement, and most importantly, the brain. Our brain is not a muscle that
makes us feel happy and satisfied. must be exercised; it is a dense network
Learning is more than just formal training. of fiber pathways consisting of around 100
It is about exploring new ideas, seeing op- billion neurons. Our ability to make good
portunities, embracing new experiences, decisions - as is needed on a ship during
and sharpening our skills. It means being critical circumstances in navigation, cargo
curious and having an enquiring mind in operations, troubleshooting the failure of
An analysis by Stelios Volakis all areas of life, not only at work. equipment, etc. - depends on how well our
Training Manager, Athina Maritime The Support Structures is the 2nd Module brains interpret and process the informa-
Learning and Development Center of the Let’s Talk course pack of the SHELL tion received.

16 MINERVA IN FOCUS – ISSUE 16 / Q2 2021