I hate flying!

There are few things more terrifying to me than the thought of being the victim of a plane crash. Every time I’m on a flight, I always think of the opening scene in “Final Destination” and it freaks me out.

Now, I’ve flown dozens of times (mostly as a kid), but over the last 10 years or so, I have developed an incredible (and irrational) fear of flying.

When I wrote this post a few weeks ago, I was actually on a flight from Boston to Washington DC and as we left the runway and started our ascent, my thoughts immediately shifted to the possibility of a crash.

I know all the statistics in the world tell us that the likelihood of dying in a  plane crash is astronomically small, but regardless, I’m scared shitless.

The Nightmare

As I sit nervously on the runway, sweat building underneath my arms, I think only of getting off the plane. The sounds of people shuffling papers, fidgeting with the overhead fans, and idle chatter fill the air.

The stench of stale, musty air fills my nostrils as I close my eyes and wish for the flight to go smoothly and quickly. I say a few short prayers and close my eyes tightly.

As the plane begins to ferry through the runway lanes and prepares for takeoff, I realize that there is no turning back.

As we lift off, I become embarrassingly aware of the large sweat stains on my shirt. My life is in someone else’s hands completely.

scared.to.death

As we begin climbing to 30,000 feet, I can feel the air currents working against the plane and I experience my least favorite part of flight-turbulence.

As the plane begins to rise and drop through air pockets, it feels like I’m on a broken roller coaster. My only thought is this plane can’t crash, I have too much to live for. Of course, I have zero control over the plane, the pilots, or the weather. I am at the total mercy of all these things.

There is no worse feeling than being completely helpless in a possibly life threatening situation. You may be laughing at the fact that I refer to flying as “life threatening”, but IT IS!

What’s Your Biggest Fear?

The fear of death follows from the fear of life.  A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time. ~Mark Twain

The underlying reason for my fear of flying is being powerless against the possibility of prematurely dying. At almost now 40 years old, I feel like I still have so much to experience, so much to give, and so much to learn that I can’t die. I CAN’T!

I haven’t even begun to really live my life and I’m petrified that I will die with a big ol’ empty hole in my soul

The thought of my daughters being without their daddy breaks my heart. The thought of my wife getting a call from the TSA telling her about a fatal plane crash horrifies me. The thought of missing out on all the years I have left on this Earth brings me nearly to tears.

Control Your Fears or They WILL Control You!

Fear can be paralyzing, I know. Maybe your fear is deep rooted from an event from your past or maybe it’s completely irrational. Doesn’t matter.

That fear can and will control us until we take control of it.

We need to ask ourselves a very important question; why am I so afraid of this?

In The 4-Hour Workweek, there’s a story of a man who was petrified to fly because he felt like if the plane crashed, he would die with the best still inside of him. I feel the exact same way. Do you have these thoughts as well?

How would you feel if today was your last day on Earth? Have you lived how you’ve wanted? Have you found your happiness? Have you made an impact on others lives? Have you spent enough quality time with loved ones?

The answer for most of us a resounding NO. No, no, no, no,no…

Why You Need To Get Off Your Ass Right Now

Is your fear keeping you from taking action on creating the life you want? What are you going to do about it? If you don’t overcome it, it will rule your life and keep you from living the life you truly deserve.

What will it take to overcome it? It will take a commitment like none other. For many of us, it will be the hardest thing we will ever do.

For others, it will prove to be too difficult and you will spend your life wishing could have and be more. FAIL.

So, how does one overcome the fear of death, or the fear of not having enough, or the fear of missing out, or the millions of other bullshit fears? It starts with living.

Not just living a life of averageness, but the life you must have.

I don’t think that there are many people who are ready to die, but when your number is up, how will you handle it?

If your doctor gave you 12 hours to live, would you spend your time quietly reflecting on your life? Would you be content and at peace? Or would you be like me and be uncontrollably upset that you had wasted the majority of your life doing things you didn’t enjoy?

Does that scare you? If not, you’re dead inside. If you’re dead inside, you NEED to take action right this second on recreating your future.

Your time WILL come and come quickly. Do not, I repeat, do not spend any more of your precious life pissing it away doing things that bring unhappiness, anger, hate, fear, indifference, and greed into your life.

If that means quitting your job, then so be it. Does that mean quit your job tomorrow without proper planning? No, that would be foolish.

Your #1 goal should be planning your escape from whatever situation(s) are negatively affecting your life and lifestyle. You cannot afford to wait on this. One month will turn into one year which will turn into five years which becomes a 40 year career working a job you couldn’t stand.

That’s 90,000 hours of your life sucked down into a black hole of nothingness. Think about this number the next time you think about “just sticking it out for another 6 months”. That could be your death sentence…

What are you afraid of? What’s really holding you back?

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