I’d like to think that I’m always cool, calm, and collected on the road.

Sure, my selective memory might only remember Ko Tao, where the zipper on my luggage busted. Clear thinking meant temporarily throwing my belongings into a garbage bag, so I could catch the longtail boat before the next storm.

But my friends in Pisa might politely remind me that money-worries seemed to handicap me from enjoying part of my time with them. Their persuasion to “get over it” gave me the perspective that I needed to spend the money and joyfully attend a local’s wedding in Milan—one of the best experiences of that trip.

What good trip doesn’t come with a few wrenches? Staying level-headed is key.

It was worth a million dollars to the winners of The Amazing Race. In Sunday’s finale, TK and Rachel won because of it, keeping calm when they needed their wits the most. During the final leg in Anchorage, Rachel had the task of solving a puzzle with objects from prior countries on the race. Keeping calm helped—she moved her team from 2nd place to 1st. Actually, the pair was known for its easy-go-lucky attitude throughout the race—to the chagrin of other teams, who were yelling at each other and those around them.

And the Race member who best epitomized the zen of calm by the end: Ron, who thankfully stopped yelling at and started listening to his daughter, Chris. It seems as though he’s thinking more clearly than ever these days—he’s selling his “Who’s your daddy?” shirts on Ebay and giving the proceeds to an orphanage in Burkina Faso (West Africa), one of the stops on the Race. Bidding on the seven shirts will last from Wednesday 1/23 to Sunday 2/2.