For the last 14 years I have worked in a few different highly (mentally and physically) demanding jobs. I have learned a few things along the way that might be beneficial to others. Of course, it helped solidify the things we are told when we are young like, you should eat a healthy breakfast to get the day started or achieve an X number of steps in your day to maintain some form physical health (or insert your example of “yeah I know already” found in a less than stellar self-help group.) As (non-sarcastically) good as these things are to understand, the work or understanding doesn’t stop there. So here it goes, the great penguin analogy that I most certainly can’t take credit for but will absolutely challenge.

                  I will set it up where we can all get on the same page. Picture an ice burg floating on a calm sea with the vast desert of Antarctica’s shoreline barely in sight. The iceberg will represent the structure in which we hold information that we have maintained overtime. Now picture all standing area available packed nut to butt with penguins. The penguins will symbolize the different pieces of information you have gathered over time.

                  How I have personally heard the analogy repeatedly is like this: “To gain new information, one must kick a penguin off the iceberg inviting a new penguin that was hanging around the iceberg to hop on. The process happens repeatedly, and you must make room for the new penguins to grow, adapt and learn new things. Just keep kicking, you’ll do good here if you learn what WE need you to do.”

                  My first thought was who in their right mind came up with this, what kind of person hates penguins so intensely that they kick them off, and not only at that, but with shore barely insight. Sheesh. But then over time I started understanding what was meant by it. However, I thought it still missed the mark (well for me anyway). When we are in stressful (ie. Interview, lifesaving or threating event just to name a few) environments and our actions depend on our own cognitive abilities, we can’t pick the piece of information off the iceberg as if we were in the comforts of our own home with the people whom we trust and love.

                  The ocean (our internal homeostasis) gets angry and rough. The iceberg begins to rock violently. Our brain is on fire. The ability to recall let alone use the information on the iceberg gets less and less realistic with every violent inconsistent wave that hits it. We might not even know what information we are reaching for, but we will be reaching for something. That piece of information we may need might have been kicked off to make room for that random baseball stat that we just had to remember to tell one of our co-workers.

                  I will show how I tried to fix the analogy, so it is more applicable for me and then how I can apply it in my own experiences. Picture this: Off the coast of Antarctica there is a bay full of icebergs. All penguins that live in the area decide that they all need to sit on one single iceberg. So, there they are, packed in once again, nut to butt. Within a penguin hop distance, sits two other icebergs. More than suitable for the penguins to make their home. One of the two new ice bergs holds the penguins that have information that you might immediately need in an upcoming stressful moment. The other is reserved for the penguins that hold the information you want or should retain. Organize those penguins accordingly. The concept works for me and my environment because I know that at any given time, I can move the penguins from one iceberg to another. Which is an absolute must.

                  The application works like this. Whenever that storm of a stressful environment is inevitably on its way, begin to organize your penguins. The waves will come crashing regardless. But the fact is, you are now in a bay full of icebergs that will surely diminish the size and violence of the waves that come crashing in. With the penguins being more spread apart, you can more effectively identify the specific one you need and pick it out smoother and more efficiently. While you could see this as something that happens when you study for something like a test. I would personally ask that you see it as more of a cognitive off load. A quick sorting method when you only have minutes. It’s an incredibly important skill to have when operating stressfull environments. Plus, you’ll need some extra space on the initial iceberg to take on the everchanging environment or social cues.

                  Try this, next time you go into a job interview, medical emergency where you are a clinician or whatever situation you deem fitting in your life. Before you step out of your car for that interview, move those penguins around. Think about the specific things you have learned about the job you want and write them down or maybe some specific things you’d like to share about yourself. Get it over to the other iceberg so you can use it in the storm. On your way to that next emergency that is going to demand your cognitive ability, make it easier on yourself and better for patient. Before you get on scene, write down those drug dosages, write down what you think you might need and use it as reference. It takes only a minute or two.

                  The storm is coming one way or another. Prepare yourself and know how you can do everything possible to create a more favorable outcome. This is a short game tool I find useful. Quit losing penguins, they are important. Plus, what did the penguins ever do to you?

It’s not perfect, just me rambling.