Human emotions are a wonderful thing. To a large extent Hollywood and the publishing industry have staked their claim on their ability to appeal to or manipulate the emotions of their viewers and readers. Who didn’t cry at the end of Old Yeller? The book is infused with powerful feels, as is the movie.
The reactions we have to such blatantly tear-jerking stories have a place in our hearts. We love to be entertained, to be soothed by stories that take us out of our own lives for a moment. Ah, entertainment.
Our reactions to specific stimuli create the basis for much of what’s good in life. Humor, romance, pathos, and fear all ball up inside us to create a cornucopia of reactionary options. At the very core of us is our ability to feel, to emote, and to empathize.
That is not to say emotions are all good all the time. While a given reaction to a situation may be understandable, that does suggest the reaction is desirable or productive.
There is perhaps no more valuable lesson to be learned in life than to realize that we have control over our own emotions and reactions to stimuli, at least to some extent.
Fear is a good example of this. Fear is not all bad. It’s a great motivator. It serves its purpose when preventing us from sticking our hand into a running fan or making us walk more briskly to the car when we find ourselves in a sketchy neighborhood after dark. Conversely it does not serve us well when it prevents us from taking positive action to improve our lives when there is no serious physical threat implicit in the action we’re contemplating.
At the core of fear is often a lack of understanding. Its debilitating power is what kept us from talking to that special someone way back when, because we feared rejection. It’s what kept us from tossing a few dollars into the stock market when we were younger, because we believed we might lose it all in a market crash. It’s what keeps far too many people from making that initial visit to the airport where there is a flight school. The erroneous belief that flying is dangerous keeps more than 99% of us grounded.
The erroneous belief that flying is dangerous keeps more than 99% of us grounded.
All this fear, misplaced and unfounded as it might be, leads us to a life that is less than it might have been — cheapened and tarnished by a lack of understanding that manifests as fear. We willingly accept a discounted life experience in a vain attempt to avoid the emotion we cherish least.
Make no mistake, fear will play a role in every life. Whether it exists as an impenetrable wall or a mere speed bump in the road is largely up to the perceptions of the individual themselves.
The differentiating factor is often the realization that the antidote to fear is education and awareness. Resisting fear only makes it more powerful. Accepting it as a warning of what might be, then evaluating the potential risk before taking action, is the real goal.
No, you probably won’t be scarred for life if you ask that special someone to dinner and they decline the offer. The worst outcome really isn’t all that bad. But there is at least a chance they’ll accept the invitation, opening the door to a new relationship that might have real value. That’s worth a risk, isn’t it?
The odds are very much in your favor that you will not lose your life savings in a stock market crash. As long as you don’t sell you haven’t really lost anything. If you owned 10 shares of Acme Manufacturing, you still own 10 shares of Acme Manufacturing, it’s just marked down for the moment. In fact, the smart investor buys more when the market bottoms out, essentially getting a great deal on a solid investment. Over the long term the risk is very much worth the reward.
A visit to the airport to see the sights, meet the players, and ask a few questions about how flight training works isn’t really all that dangerous in the big scheme of things. There isn’t anything to be afraid of other than our own imaginations. Much like the idea of public speaking, which can knock a brave but inexperienced man to his knees, actually speaking to a large audience isn’t all that intimidating once you’ve done it enough to gain some confidence.
To conquer fear, start small. Read up on the topic. Talk to people who do the thing that intimidates you. Seek out videos that will expose you to various experiences and opinions. Then make a rational, well thought out decision about whether you should proceed or not.
Knowing why you should or shouldn’t do what you’re thinking of doing can make all the difference. And the result? A far wider horizon with a much larger spectrum of options for you to choose from. There is a bigger life to be had, a more satisfying life, a better you, if you’ll accept the fear, manage the risk, and incrementally become more than you were. Maybe more than you thought you could be.
Of course, it is worth noting that emotions will still affect you. They affect all of us. That is the nature of being human. Unavoidably, we’ll have to deal with fear’s persistently annoying little brother anxiety. A fancy four syllable word that breaks down more succinctly to worry. With Tax Day looming, you’re not doubt familiar with the concept of worry and its absolute worthlessness in the face of any problem.
Worry never solves anything, but it can make even a minor challenge seem more insurmountable, if allowed to fester and grow in the back of one’s mind. But that’s a different story for another day. For right now, let’s consider what we’re afraid of, learn about it until we have a better understanding, keep an open mind, and take at least one step in a bold new direction.
You’re worth the risk.
Jamie wrote: “It’s what keeps far too many people from making that initial visit to the airport where there is a flight school. The erroneous belief that flying is dangerous keeps more than 99% of us grounded.
The erroneous belief that flying is dangerous keeps more than 99% of us grounded. All this fear, misplaced and unfounded as it might be, leads us to a life that is less than it might have been — cheapened and tarnished by a lack of understanding that manifests as fear. We willingly accept a discounted life experience in a vain attempt to avoid the emotion we cherish least. Make no mistake, fear will play a role in every life. Whether it exists as an impenetrable wall or a mere speed bump in the road is largely up to the perceptions of the individual themselves. The differentiating factor is often the realization that the antidote to fear is education and awareness.”
Well, sorry old buddy, but I strongly disagree with your dissertation. I am not a pilot although I have had some training in the right seat by a good friend and commercial pilot. He is VERY cautious, and won’t fly his own machine if there’s bad weather anywhere in this hemisphere. You know the old expression:”There’s old pilots and bold pilots, but no old-bold pilots.” Seems to be the case.
I have a morbid curiosity about plane crashes and read the cases on this list every day plus other ones on AOPA, etc. If accident prevention were only education, sobriety, checking the weather along your flight path and filing a flight plan, there would be very few accidents. But there are many GA accidents, about half of them fatal. Yes, some are due to the stupid factor and ‘get there itis.’ But it seems to me that unforeseen rapid weather changes, downdrafts; engine failures for a variety of reasons, fuel consumption problems either due to failure to calculate the required quantity plus a safety margin or the machine leaking, and on and on infinitum. Nosing into the ground at 100 mph and burning to a crisp are my idea of a very hard — and totally unnecessary — way to meet one’s maker. Wish I could harbor a different opinion, but I view private recreational GA as a suicide hobby. Of course, the thought of mortal danger doesn’t prevent many folks from embracing this hobby or any other of comparable risk. But then again, I’m risk averse.
I’d like to hear from you gents and gals who love your GA hobby as to whether you have prepared your families of the not-insignificant probability of not returning back home after that nice Sunday spin around the countryside, when they find your crumpled PA or 172 in the trees a half-mile short of your intended runway. Looking forward to hearing your rants against my opinion expressed here, but the accident reports and the Grim Reaper work hand-and-cowling. Regards/Jim Potter
Your a bit off on your comment. I don’t agree that you believe flying is not dangerous. So is other forms of transportation.
Your friend that you fly with is cautious and sounds like a careful pilot.
I mentioned the FAA risk management program. Read what that is all about. The FAA knows flying is dangerous. That is why we all are so regulated. Licensing, medical over sight and required additional training is high on the FAA list to keep flying private aircraft as safe as possible.
I can pull my experience card on you and tell you that if one does not know the risks involved then they are an accident waiting top happen.
So Jim become a pilot learn the risks and stay away from them the best you can.
Go through the the training cycle and prove to a good FAA examiner your worthy of flying over the general public in an aircraft and not hurt them as well as yourself!!!
Addressing the cost factor comment, learning to fly has always been an expensive proposition. As a teen in the late ‘60s, I had to establish my priorities, just as anyone of any age who isn’t extraordinarily wealthy must do. Over a couple years, I saved my earnings (never made more than 1.45/ hr, spent 16/ hr. on the C-150)) with multiple jobs (lawn mowing, paper route, and when an older teen, stocking shelves , etc.) after school & on weekends, put off buying a car (unlike my peers), and washed & waxed planes for flying time. It’s the old “ where there’s a will there’s a way”.
It certainly would help nowadays, though, to put an end to the frivolous law suits that plague the manufacturers.
Interesting article and I liked reading it. I have a however, Flying is dangerous. Why would anyone think it isn’t? Driving is more dangerous and yet most people do not think about it.
The FAA requires their DPE’s to include risk management in testing for certificates and ratings. Basically the student has to be aware that if he takes off in an aircraft he could crash and die! He need to explain this to the examiner!
Not too go for public relations is it?
The right attitude is an important lesson all students must learn, However some never do and become the statistics the NTSB publishes every year.
So most pilots are aware of the risks involved and we all live with risk no matter what we do……
I’ve been an AGI for some time (longer than I care to admit), and I talk to a lot of people about learning to fly and often, why they should. Most of the younger people are not afraid of the flying part, they’re much more concerned with the cost. It is the older cohort, the people who can actually afford this, who are more concerned with the safety aspect. I guess we become more fearful as we age.
The media is no help. If a Piper Cub hits a runway light and gets a six inch tear in the fabric, the media immediately screams “ANOTHER AIRPLANE DISASTER!!!!!” Recently, someone landed an M20E on a highway in California (no injuries) and the headline was “PRIVATE JET CRASHES ON INTERSTATE!!!!”. My neighbor has an M20E, last time I looked it appeared to have a piston engine which looked rather suspiciously like an O-360 Lycoming, if I can believe my own lying eyes. I guess he should have bought the jet engine option.
Of course, they don’t talk much about all the car crashes that happened the same day, because car crashes, unless they are spectacular, don’t sell newspapers, or nowadays, get clicks.
Nobody said life was fair, and I have heard vague rumors that some media outlets have their own agendas, but I can’t confirm it. I intend to keep flying anyway, and keep inviting people to come along. In over 40 years, I have had exactly ONE person say “I don’t like this, take me back.” (And I promptly did.)
Best regards to all.
Mr. Jamie Beckett:
I really liked Your article (what doesn’t mean I don’t, either, agree, in some ways, with the comment of Mr. JimH.
What I feel sorry is that Your article weren’t written in a publication accessible to everyone, specially non pilots, but, unfortunately, in a publication whose majority of readers are already pilots.
Jamie,
As soon as I started reading this, I knew you wrote it.
Thanks again for the great insight!
I think that the fear factor is not a major deterrent for persons that are interesting in what general aviation is all about.
From my experience with our EAA chapter, it is the high cost, about $14,000 here in CA, and the 50 hours, if they fly 2-3 days a week. [ none recently were ready in 40 hours ]
Even with an EAA Ray scholarship of $10,000, it takes a few $thousand more for the ground school, materials, tests and the check ride. All in addition to learning all of the new skills, aviating, navigating, weather, communications….
Then, after earning a pilot certificate, the $200 /hr to rent an aircraft is another, ongoing expense.