Inevitably, we are going to hit some choppy conditions and experience turbulence in life and the plane we are flying will not be fault-free either.
Whether in the air or on the ground, there are things that will cause excitement, confusion and instability.
Some of the conditions we face are really going to test us mentally and consume us.
If that happens it can get dangerous because we can quickly lose the plot.
Student pilots are told,
When things start going wrong, don’t forget to fly the plane.
If there’s a problem in or outside of the cockpit, a pilot can get tunnel vision and focus so intently on one thing that flying the actual plane can take second place. That can prove catastrophic.
When something goes wrong with the plane you need to do the right thing and troubleshoot but whatever you do, keep flying it!
If we only focus on the turbulence and ‘mind faults’ (engine failure) in our own lives and we forget to fly the plane, we might just run ourselves into the ground.
Some of the troubles we encounter can be quite minor stuff yet it can dominate our thinking to the point and so we forget to focus on what really matters.
But even if there’s something more serious to contend with in our lives like a personal thunderstorm, we don’t stop flying the plane! We are the plane!
In a personal crisis, we might be inundated with events and thoughts and it’s impossible to handle them all simultaneously. Prioritise and make the best decision, quickly.
It shouldn’t be something you forget but your main goal is to fly the plane, that is your top priority.
Being an effective human requires focus, practice and the ability to not let distractions get in the way of your destination. But how many of us get distracted and sabotage our own flights?
Fly the plane and stay ahead of the plane by knowing exactly where you are and where you’re going at all times.
We can’t always fly conservatively and make a controlled landing on a runway. In the eye of a ‘new’ crisis there may be no precedent for specific action required. We might have to land somewhere else and make it work. Does that sound familiar?
Remember what happened to Captain ‘Sully’ Sullenberger and First Officer Jeff Skiles of US Airways Flight 1549 after their plane lost both of its engines because of a bird strike?
They remembered to ‘fly the plane’ and successfully executed an emergency water landing on the Hudson River in New York City and all 155 people aboard were rescued safely.
This was dramatised for the movie screens in the feature film ‘Sully: Miracle on the Hudson’ with Tom Hanks playing the part of Chesley Burnett Sullenberger III.
Never forget, no matter what’s happening, to fly the airplane.
Incurable cancer was my ‘Hudson River’ moment, and I remembered to fly the plane.
