No short-cuts to Mars!

This week I learned about a planned mission to mars called Mars-One (http://www.mars-one.com/). Interestingly, the crew will comprise "normal" people, not the NASA academy astronauts. These people have volunteered to go. The catch? It's a one way trip, they don't have a way to come back to earth. They have decided to give up everything and pursue an absurd challenge of living in a capsule on another planet. I think it is incredible, and turn back the clock a few years, before I was married, and I would have signed up. Maybe it's a mid-life crisis state of mind driving that opinion to take on such a crazy life change, but I still think that it is a fascinating project and will be watching the progress with keen interest over the next 10 years when they expect the first crew to settle. 

What changes are you currently facing and what are you willing to give-up to achieve them?

Change is inherently a process of something being displaced or replaced with something else. The former condition is no more. It has been transformed into something different. Sometimes this process is uncontrollable and we are simply passengers in the transformation. In other instances we get to choose to make the transformation. We have to weigh up the former condition against the desired outcome and then decide which we desire more. It almost always involves giving up something familiar to make the transformation. It's often the value we place on the familiar and the fear of not achieving the goal that keeps us exactly where we are far longer than we should be. Personalities are so varied that some thrive on change and are frustrated by the "familiar", but I think the generalisation holds true. Those volunteer astronauts are giving up everything they are familiar with to pursue an incredible expedition that could potentially change the way we live. The cost versus the outcome has been weighed up and they have decided to go where many of the chosen applicants opted the other way, believing the sacrifice was too great. How do your current possible changes and sacrifices weigh up in your life?
The actual trip to Mars is 210 days, which is a long time to be in close habitat and that's what they have to endure before they even get to their destination. Even before that, they have to go through vigorous training to be equipped for the mission. It is still 10 years before they reach Mars. Similarly, our changes will require time and equipping to get the desired outcome. No short-cuts to Mars! Once again, these efforts have to be considered when embarking on the mission of change. Whether you are an A-type personality, where every last detail is listed and categorised, or a free-spirited creative-type, some consideration of the effort required to make the transformation must be made. I'm all for comparative tables, to-do lists and schedules when it comes to making decisions as I need to visualise the entire situation to make my choice. Use the tools and means best suited to you and the level of change required. No need for a full desk-top study to decide to change your blue shirt for a white one! However, choosing to buy a house, change of job or career, relationships would all require some due consideration. Make sure you have considered the sacrifice, effort required and the outcome very carefully. 
Don't fly to Mars on an impulse decision.