I, on the other hand, analyze almost everything, like flying (keep in mind, I haven’t always been afraid of flying; this is a fear that has developed the older I get.) It had been three years since I had flown on an airplane. During that time, there was the Hudson River incident and...and then there was...and... Well, OK. No other incidents come to my mind right away, but I do know there were some! And even though that plane landed safely on the river and everyone was okay, that still doesn’t do much to help a worrywart. Why? Because a worrywart like myself will still wonder, what if a similar situation happens on another plane and that one isn’t able to land safely? What if it safely lands on the water but sinks before anyone can exit? What if something even worse happens???
Anyway, the idea of airplane disasters isn’t the only potential flying deterrent for me. I also worry about being exposed to colds and who knows what else while on planes (a few times I got sick after flights and it made my vacations miserable!).
So with all of these possibilities going through my mind, I rolled my suitcase onto a plane earlier this month. As I stepped on board, my chest tightened as I realized this probably was the smallest commercial plane I had flown on - ever. The plane had just two rows of seats, and they were very close together. And there wasn’t even enough room in the overhead compartments for our carry-on luggage (they had to store our carry-on luggage below the plane).
“OK. I can do this,” I thought. “No going back now.”
Once we were in the air at a cruising altitude, I was fine and not a bit nervous. Nothing happened while on the plane, and I never even got sick afterwards!
Have you ever noticed how often the anticipation for an event is worse than the actual event? You worry and contemplate about what bad things could happen, but then none of those things happen. And have you noticed that as soon as you are in the moment of the event you feared, you’re not as worried as you had been? Instead, you adapt and go with the flow, and you may even enjoy yourself.
That’s what happened last week. After hearing about a few people who died after being infected with a brain-eating bacteria in the past year, I’ve been terrified about getting water up my nose (which is how the bacteria enters bodies). Now, normally, this bacteria is in very warm water that hasn’t been cleaned, but that didn’t stop me from worrying about it. I’ve even been worried about sticking my head in chlorinated pool water. But while in a swimming pool last week, I faced my fear. I gathered my courage and swam underneath the water. Since I was a child, I loved swimming under the water, and I decided I wasn’t going to let my fear stop me from enjoying myself.
So, those are my recent milestones. Pretty normal things that I’ve done for years, and I’m glad I was able to put my worrying aside and do them again. The next time you start worrying, just remember: the less you worry, the more you will enjoy life and the little moments. :-)
