Wheels up

Going to different cities around the world is one of my favorite things. Meeting people, trying the foods, experiencing life in a different way is a slight addiction of mine. It’s become something that’s important to my development and my perspective on life changes some every time i land in another place. But the truth is, i hate flying. Overall it’s a terrible experience for me. I can’t see where I’m going, I’m trusting a person I’ve never met, and can’t even see, to get me there. My fate being completely in their hands makes me severely anxious. I’m probably the least nervous person you’ll ever meet. Most things don’t even register with me that i should be nervous. I deal with things as they come but flying is different. So i try to sleep the whole time to cope. Even with my anxiety, i don’t shy away from flying. The oxymoron of the whole thing is that i desperately need the changes of scenery and break in the mundane days of life. The destinations and stories that i can tell my friends and family about my journey are priceless to me. The process is incredibly uncomfortable for me, but because i know what the reward is, i don’t back down. I’m willing to face the thing that makes me uncomfortable.
Life is sort of that way. We have these things that we say we want, but the reward is on the other side of discomfort, and a challenge. We want money but don’t want to work, we want family but don’t want to stay and work it out, we want health but don’t want to adjust and go against our nature to take care of our bodies. I hear people talk often about “goals” they have, and I’ll ask them “what’s stopping you”, usually the answer they give is time, or “I’ll start soon. I’m just getting mentally prepared”. And the truth of the matter is that most people just don’t want the temporary discomfort. The things we say we want really aren’t as important to us as we like to pretend. Most of us are ok if we never get to where we want in life because our ultimate goal is comfort, not progression. Having goals, however small, that are important to you, will drive your changes. But more importantly, it is the tool used to overcome your fears. I’m a person that needs to be able to see the outcome before i jump in with two feet, but most good things happen to you in a way that you can’t see coming. Most things we’re afraid of aren’t as scary as we think because we’re fully equipped the whole time, we just didn’t know it. The shadow is always bigger than the source.