1. Write your name on everything
Everything. Even your underwear. Even if no one else on your squad has that item. You’ll know your things (and your teammates will learn your clothes) but the rest of your squad won’t know what’s yours. If you want it to come back to you, your name helps a lot.
2. Build your own team
Your teammates on the field are chosen for you but you need teammates at home too. Those you get to choose. Don’t underestimate the power of a support team, a prayer team, a “This stinks” teammate. You need emotional/spiritual support from home and you need to seek it out. It might work better to establish those roles before you leave rather than expecting it once you’re on the field.
3. Blog, blog, blog.
No two days will ever be the same so make sure to mark down every single one of them. I used a calendar (a gift from my Month 1 host) to mark what we did each day. And I journaled over 300 pages. Yet still my blog is my favorite recap because each piece is a completed story, a single snapshot from my life.
4. #Andthenitwasnormal
Life is crazy on the field. But it’s only a matter of time before lighting your stove with a match and not flushing toilet paper become normal. Embrace it. Let go of your preferences, your ideals, your wants and desires. Laugh at the silly stuff. Embrace the #worldraceprobs
5. Realize at the end you go home
Do you want to go home different? Spend some time in Month One looking at who you want to be when you get home, what you want your life to look like, and how you want to be different. Then pursue those things. They’ll change as you change and that’s ok but if you’re not pro-active about it, you’ll change kicking and screaming. That’s no fun.
5b. Don’t sell everything you own or empty your bank account into your support account. At the end you go home. You’ll want something to help you get back up on your feet again.
What would you add to this list?
