I fly aircraft for a living. Strangely enough, I have learned so much about life in general from all my years of doing this. There's ironically a lot of parallels that can be drawn between living your life and the art that is learning to fly things in the most skillful, professional, and efficient manner possible.
Something struck me the other day as we were cutting across the country and I wanted to share it with you. This is the simple fact that getting anywhere in life expeditiously and successfully is not always about taking the most direct path, but rather finding the path of least resistance. Let me explain.
When we sit down and plan flights, we always look at the prevailing wind patterns for that day's flight. Wherever it is that we are going, we always account for winds. We have to. You can't see it, but the atmosphere is wildly alive with strong winds blowing at all times. If you face too strong of a head wind, you may not have enough fuel to make it to your destination and you'll likely have a bumpy ride. Too much resistance. So when you look at the map and plot the flight out on days like these, you see a line that looks far from straight. A curved route, a weird jog in it, what seems like funny "bends in the road" perhaps. The path from A to B is far from direct, but interestingly enough, even flying 100's of miles "out of the way" arrives you at your destination sooner than it would have if you tried to go straight there (shortest mileage) on that given day. You'll even use less gas. It's all about finding the pathway through the air that offers the least amount of wind resistance.
Life works the exact same way my friends. You don't always have to go "straight" there. Not at all. Maybe sometimes this is OK and works in your favor. A windless day? Sure. But what about those other times where all you do is meet resistance? Sure is taxing to try to push through that. Hell, you might even run out of steam before you even get there. This is what I am telling you. There are many ways to get from A to B. In whatever it is that you are doing in life. Whatever your dreams are. Whatever your pursuits. Just remember this. Try to find the path of least resistance. Don't always be so concerned with just going straight there. Sometimes you might have to go a little out of your way, or even a lot. It may take you a little bit longer, it may not. But that's OK. As long as there is less resistance, then it is to your benefit. It's more efficient.
You've got to realize that life can be a little deceiving at times. It has a way of fooling you. You look straight down the road. You see your destination. You think to yourself, gee, shortest mileage? Yup that's the way. Off you go, meeting nothing but resistance all the way. However, sometimes a detour, a circuitous route, or a jog off course is what's needed. You can't always see the wind. But sure as hell it is definitely there. Try to get good at sensing it. I hope you know what I mean. You know when you are facing resistance. You can just feel it. I know you can. You can tell if you just tune in. Start paying more attention to those things.
Remember guys: Path of least resistance > Shortest distance.
You'll be less stressed. You'll enjoy the ride more.
What is it that you are fighting the current on right now? Is there another path that you can take to get there? Don't try to fly right into the core of the headwind. Find that path of least resistance. Just like the airplane.
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