Apparently, most of us have a default level of happiness. No matter what our station is in life, we are all slightly dissatisfied. Slightly. Life is just never quite good enough, even when it really is. This default happiness level readjusts depending on your circumstances. Even if something significant happens…

The beliefs we need to protect us from our own fear of death become the things we are willing to die (and kill) for. — Imagine the following terrifying scenario. You’re on a flight that is out of control and destined to end in a fatal crash. There is nothing you can do about it. The engines have flamed out. The pilots are incapacitated. No one else knows how to fly. Now for some devastating…

This is at the heart of my writer’s roadblock. I’m seeking answers to questions I can’t know until I put one foot in front of the other. Until I take that bold step into the unknown. — I hit a roadblock with my writing recently. I stalled. Ironically while writing a book about stalling and the need to let go to regain lift in life. Instead of doing that, I kept smacking my head against a brick wall.

This is the primary reason we give life meaning — to protect us from the knowledge that we will one day die. — The Paradox of Progress The story of Buddha is well known. He was born into a palace and given every indulgence he could wish for. At the same time, he was shielded from the outside world. And yet, it wasn’t enough. He knew something was off. (Sound familiar?) One day he went against his…

The grass is always greener for a good reason. Once upon a time, it was. — Collectively we are stalling in greater numbers than ever before. To quote some rather alarming statistics: In the United States, depression and anxiety are on an eighty-year upswing among young people and a twenty-year upswing among the adult population. Not only are people experiencing depression in greater numbers, but they’re…

When we stall in life the only way to regain lift is to let go. — The Four Forces of Flight There’s an analogy I want to imprint on your mind today. It’s one I intend to come back to repeatedly as I go about writing my high-flying book. It concerns something known in aviation as the four forces of flight. To give you a quick lesson in aerodynamics, those are…

If you ignore the elephant for too long, eventually, it will crush you. It’s why I left the cockpit altogether. — I’m going to stick my neck out today. I will talk about something I’ve been avoiding for specific political and professional reasons for some time now. A topic close to my heart. As it turns out, aircrew are extremely reluctant to discuss mental health. On the rare occasions I’ve brought…

The optimal state of being is not to feel good all the time but to feel appropriately good or bad given your current circumstances. — What Is Extraversion? Extraversion breaks down into the following two fundamental aspects: assertiveness and enthusiasm. Those high in assertiveness are the take-charge types. The so-called natural-born leaders. The game-changing alphas. (A valuable trait for a pilot, I might add.)

It goes a long way to determining who you are, the choices you make, and how well you do in life. — The Story of Personality Theory Some 80-plus years ago researchers embarked on one of the longest (and most boring) projects in human psychology. It started with the idea that people are born with different character traits that remain relatively stable throughout one’s lifetime. They called this idea personality.