5 Things I learnt about life from flying a helicopter!
Now even though I did this back in September, this experience keeps playing over again and again in my mind, I cannot describe the incredible joy and exhilaration I felt from my first time flying and being in command of all controls of a helicopter.
This brought the biggest grin to my face as it had been on my goal list for such a long time and you guessed it, getting my helicopter pilot’s licence and buying a chopper is now on my list!!
1. Get a mentor – having someone that knows the path ahead of you is imperative for success, especially when your life depends on it! (And even though your immediate physical safety and wellbeing may not be threatened from the day to day decisions you make, overall every single day you live, IS A MINI VERSION of your LIFE. So if you are not happy, NOW would be the time to change it!)
There is something so calming, so reassuring to know that you are in the hands of someone that has incredible expertise in learning what it is that you are wanting to learn. Even if you are nervous, knowing full well, that they have got you covered allows you to leap a bit bigger in life, knowing that you have that safety net. It allows you to expand and test your wings to greater and bigger experiences. With their knowledge and expertise guiding you every step of the way, helping you to develop your own intuition, skills, gifts and talents.
2. When you change one thing, it impacts everything. One of the first things I learnt when learning to fly a helicopter was that when one controller was altered, it impacted the other two, where micro adjustments were needed to be made to ensure that the helicopter did not dip, roll or rotate, in order to keep it stable.
Life is like that as well. When you make adjustments in one area, it will impact in other areas, and you will also need to make micro adjustments in order to maintain stability. When adding a gym routine to your day, adjusting your other commitments timewise to either work, business, family or leisurely pursuits will need to change. When pursuing a hobby, other adjustments need to be made. When going for a big goal, perhaps in business again, family life, or other goals will need to be re-evaluated and adjusted.
The aim of life, is for each adjustment to improve your overall happiness, wellbeing, confidence, stability and joy. To be in greater and greater alignment with your truest self, is the greatest gift to give yourself, and in doing so the road ahead is not only filled with joy and fun but you can tend to go faster than ever before, because you are aligned and you will also get to reach your destination, whilst enjoying the journey!
3. The more you relax, the greater control you actually have. I know it seems counter intuitive. However, it’s so true. I had to be reminded several times to relax on the control arm, as I was gripping it intensely at times. I kept on wanting to hold my arm up in the air tightly, instead of relaxing it with ease and stability on my leg. It’s funny how we sometimes make very hard work of things, that could be much easier, in an attempt to gain greater control.
This was such a great lesson for me, as the control arm only needed micro movements of a couple of millimetres to adjust the helicopter in a fairly large way. I could see that the more fearful I got the harder I gripped it, instead of relaxing. And yet when I relaxed, the helicopter was able to stabilise. Such a great metaphor, for how we can sometimes over react in life, instead of remaining calm, stable and relaxed, knowing that everything is happening for us and everything is always working out.
This is true of emotional mastery and why I am so passionate about teaching it.
4. Communication is vital. Being able to communicate with the tower when we were taking off and landing and when it was safe to do so, was vital to keep everyone safe. Being able to communicate with my teacher was also imperative to know when he had control of the helicopter and when he was handing the controls over to me.
The same could not be truer in life. Being able to communicate effectively with our loved ones, work colleagues, employees, bosses, friends and especially intimate partner and children is imperative for happiness in life. Being able to clearly state what is and isn’t ok for you, to set clear boundaries, to be able to articulate your own goals, dreams, values, beliefs and what you’d love to create in life for yourself, means that you get to build incredibly supportive, aligned and nurturing relationships.
Being able to ask for help or support when you need it, or listen to others and assist them, when they are needing support and encouragement creates great relationships. If we are not present or emotionally available to a situation at hand, chances are we will have missed the signs, not once or twice but, many, many times.
The signs that our child needed us to listen to them and be there for them, the signs that our partner was not happy, the signs that could have lead to greater team moral and collaboration at work. The joy that comes from feeling truly connected, loved and loving with other humans is like nothing else on earth that we get to experience and effective and heart-based communication is at the core of this.
5. Always be clear on your outcome! Know where you are and where you want to go. Having a map or GPS system is super important for getting you to your destination! Sometimes it can be fun to get a little lost in spontaneity, but staying lost for too long brings uncertainty, fear and doubt. Just like trying to drive a car with a totally muddy windscreen, when we don’t know the path ahead, or can’t see the path ahead it tends to halt us entirely in our tracks, often paralysing us with fear and not knowing which way to turn.
Before we took off, I knew in my heart that I wanted to see whales and dolphins from the helicopter, I was so excited, I’d already pre-imagined it all in my head again and again with total joy and excitement. Whatever we focus on with intense emotion we create.
And guess what! Yep I saw Whales and Dolphins from the helicopter.
I experienced immense joy, exhilaration and excitement on my 30 min flight and absolutely recommend it to anyone that is thinking about this experience.
Life is such a beautiful journey. There is learning in every experience.
Get clear on what lights your heart up.
Get clear about what brings you joy.
What are those experiences you’ve been thinking about but haven’t yet taken action on?
There is nothing more that lights my heart up, than diving deep into life,
Diving deep into all of the delicious and wonderous experiences that life offers to us in so many ways.
It’s time to set yourself free Gorgeous,
It’s time to spread your wings,
It’s time to soar to new levels,
It’s time to unleash your inner child
And dive into the playground of life!
With Love and Blessings,
Always in All Ways,
Sal xox
P.S.
If you are ready to create a magical and incredible 2020, I will be opening my Inner Circle Mastermind for 2020 on the 13th of January!
This has been an incredible platform for so many gorgeous women to dive deep into themselves in 2018 and 2019, to create wonderful, supportive friendships, to stay accountable to their goals and dreams, to share from and learn from myself and each other, to celebrate everyone’s weekly successes and steps forward.
Every book I read, every course I do and every nugget of new learning and wisdom I gather gets shared in this intimate group.
For exponential growth, the next level of commitment to yourself, PM me to find out more details about this coming 2020 Empowered Inner Circle Mastermind!
Abundant Heart Coaching, 538A The Esplanade, Warners Bay NSW 2282, Australia
Email: admin@sallyholden.com.au
Phone: (+061) 428 316 546