There’s certainly enough negativity in the world today that grabs our attention, fueled by numerous media outlets along with all forms of social media. Unfortunately, it tends to sour people’s moods, and that negativity begins to spread like a disease. But I have a suggestion for you: Change Your Focus!
Proper focus is a critical skill to develop for life, as well as flying. If we always see and concentrate on the negative in everything, then it’s reasonable to assume that we will likely see negative results in life and the things we do. But enough of philosophy, let’s discuss Focus and flying.
It’s human nature to focus on a thing, an event, a sound or a flashing light. But as pilots, it is vitally important we focus on the ‘big’ picture. A long time ago in a ready room far away, I was taught a lesson in Focus that I never forgot. A Lt. Colonel and I took flight in a Cessna 150. The Lt. Colonel was sitting left seat as Pilot-in-Command (PIC), and I was in the right seat. On climb out, the Cessna 150 began to lose power. We discussed possibilities over the intercom. He was convinced it was one thing, I was convinced it was carb ice. The more we talked, it started to turn into an argument. But the Cessna’s engine didn’t care, as the RPM’s continued to go down. Finally, I grabbed the Carb Heat knob and gave it a yank. The engine coughed, and the RPM’s climbed back to normal. I was right! But what I didn’t expect was an immediate return to the airport.
You have the power over your thoughts and actions…Matt, aka ThisOldPilot
Immediately upon landing, I was ordered out of the airplane and into the ready room. What I was facing was a very large and furious Lt. Colonel who was clearly unhappy that I’d broken protocol, even though I was right. He backed me into a corner, grabbed my flight jacket by the epaulets, and spun me around 180 degrees so I had a close view of the corner. The conversation went something like this:
LTC: “What do you see?”
Me: “A corner, Sir?”
LTC: “WRONG! What do you see?!?”
Me: “Two walls intersecting into a 90 degree corner, Sir?”
LTC: “WRONG AGAIN! What is your perspective?”
Me: “Narrow, Sir.” At this point he spins me around again, and takes a sidestep.
LTC: “What do you see now?”
Me: “The ready room Sir.”
LTC: “Wrong AGAIN! What is your perspective now?”
Me: “Wide, Sir.”
LTC: “Has your position in the room changed?”
Me: “No Sir.”
LTC: “When you were facing the corner, your focus and perspective was narrow. In flying, that is how you die. When your focus and perspective of the room opened up and became wide, you could now see ALL OF THE POSSIBILITIES that could save your life. UNDERSTAND?”
Me: “YES SIR!” (The light bulb finally clicked on, and I got it.)
To this day, I never forgot that lesson. If we focus on one thing (such as an emergency) and loose sight of the big picture, it’s easy to get behind the power curve of our airplane and become another statistic. Aviate!
I also learned to never upstage a Lt. Colonel.
Matt ~ aka ThisOld Pilot