The Three Areas of Self-Awareness: What On Earth Are You Thinking?
What On Earth Are You Thinking? “A person’s success in life can be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.” – Tim Ferris What is External Self-Awareness? Most people think about self-awareness the same way they do sex. They believe they’re great at it when, in reality, no-one…
The Three Areas of Self-Awareness: What on Earth Am I Feeling?
What on Earth Am I Feeling? “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” – Blaise Pascal Disconnecting the autopilot is the practise of noticing when you’re distracted and then actively bringing your attention back to the present. But there’s a problem. It’s called turbulence. (Namely, your emotions.) This…
Stuck in the Clouds: On the Danger of Asking Why and How To Overcome Morning Overwhelm
Hello lovely readers and welcome back to my high-flying newsletter! The only newsletter that believes you shouldn’t peel onions… Following a 3-2-1 approach, it contains 3 thoughts from me (that you should ignore), 2 quotes from others (that you should read), and 1 joke that’s so bad, it’s good! Let’s begin! 3 Thoughts: 1) Asking…
The Three Areas of Self-Awareness: What On Earth Am I Doing?
The Three Areas of Self-Awareness According to Tasah Eurich – author of Insight: The Surprising Truth about How Others See Us, How We See Ourselves, and Why the Answers Matter More Than We Think – there are 3 major blindspots to self-awareness. Those are: Behaviour blindness is being oblivious to your own actions. Not noticing when you…
Stuck in the Clouds: On Climbing Higher, Being Grateful and Having a Destination.
Hello lovely readers and welcome back to my high-flying newsletter! The only newsletter that believes the point of having a destination is so you can have a journey… Following a 3-2-1 approach, it contains 3 thoughts from me, 2 quotes from others, and 1 joke that’s so bad, it’s good! Let’s begin! 3 Thoughts: 1:…
The Rain Tree
There’s a type of tree that’s planted all over Singapore. It’s known as the rain tree because of its iconic umbrella shape. Not only is it incredibly striking to look at, the sprawling canopy provides the perfect respite from the oppressive heat we experience here year-round. It’s planted extensively throughout Singapore for this reason. It…
The Joy of Running Around Naked
So my kids have started doing this thing. Every evening before bath time – after we take their clothes off before they get into the tub – they run around the apartment like crazed feral wild cats. Screaming and laughing. Pure unadulterated joy. It got me thinking about the clothes we wear, metaphorically speaking. A…
Stuck in the Clouds: On Navigating Turbulence and Becoming a Pilot.
Hello lovely readers and welcome back to my high-flying newsletter! The only newsletter that believes you should take the autopilot out when you experience turbulence… Following a 3-2-1 approach, it contains 3 thoughts from me (that you should ignore), 2 quotes from others (that you should read), and 1 joke that’s so bad, it’s good!…
The Automation Paradox
If there’s one aviation disaster that darkens my knickers more than most, it’s AirFrance 447 – the scheduled passenger flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1st, 2009. In a very simplified nutshell, this is what happened. Approximately 2 hours after takeoff, AirFrance 447 entered a storm…
Stuck in the Clouds: On Nurturing Your Roots and Pride Versus Love.
Hello lovely readers and welcome back to my high-flying newsletter! The only newsletter that takes no pride in itself… Following a 3-2-1 approach, it contains 3 thoughts from me (that you should ignore), 2 quotes from others (that you should read), and 1 joke that’s so bad, it’s good! Let’s begin! 3 Thoughts: 1) “A…
Absurdities
The other week my wife and I celebrated our 6-year wedding anniversary. We went to a restaurant called Absurdities. It was, without a doubt, the weirdest dining experience of my life. The restaurant itself was comprised of various rooms or “worlds.” In each world (6 in total), we were served a different course. We had…
Stuck in the Clouds: On Lifting Weight and Paying Attention
Hello lovely readers and welcome back to my high-flying newsletter! The only weekly newsletter that constantly loses its train of thought.. Following a 3-2-1 approach, it contains 3 thoughts from me (that you should ignore), 2 quotes from others (that you should read), and 1 joke that’s so bad, it’s good! Let’s begin! 3 Thoughts:…
Regaining Lift: A Stall Recovery Guide for Life
“Time doesn’t heal emotional pain, you need to learn how to let go.” ― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart During my adolescence, I was bullied relentlessly for over two years. It was one of the most challenging periods of my life. I was at boarding school at the time. Halfway across the world from…
Stuck in the Clouds: On Being Stuck in the Clouds and Zooming the Lens Out
Hello lovely readers and welcome back to my high-flying newsletter! The only newsletter that promises to deliver what you can only do for yourself. Following a 3-2-1 approach, it contains 3 thoughts from me (that you should ignore), 2 quotes from others (that you should read), and 1 joke that’s so bad, it’s good! Let’s…
Stuck in the Clouds: On Reaching Your Destination and Being Real.
Hello lovely readers and welcome back to my high-flying newsletter! The only newsletter that believes dad jokes are no joke… Following a 3-2-1 approach, it contains 3 thoughts from me (that you should ignore), 2 quotes from others (that you should read), and 1 joke that’s so bad, it’s good! Let’s begin! 3 Thoughts: 1)…
Stuck in the Clouds: On Perfectionism and Value Diversification
Hello lovely readers and welcome back to my high-flying newsletter! The only newsletter that believes life is too short to be long… Following a 3-2-1 approach, it contains 3 thoughts from me (that you should ignore), 2 quotes from others (that you should read), and 1 joke that’s so bad, it’s good! Let’s begin! 3…
Stalling: Why Letting Go is the Key to Regaining Lift
“The harder we try with the conscious will to do something, the less we shall succeed. Proficiency and results come only to those who have learned the paradoxical art of doing and not doing, or combining relaxation with activity.” – Aldous Huxley “From birth, man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders. He is…
Stuck in the Clouds: On Playing To Win, Giving Up Versus Letting Go, and What It Means To Fly.
Hello lovely readers and welcome back to my high-flying newsletter! The only newsletter that believes you should imagine you’re about to die… Following a 3-2-1 approach, it contains 3 thoughts from me (that you should ignore), 2 quotes from others (that you should read), and 1 joke that’s so bad, it’s good! Let’s begin! 3…
Stuck in the Clouds: On Shame, Taking the Autopilot Out and Owning the Story of Your Past
Hello lovely readers and welcome back to my high-flying newsletter! The only newsletter that takes a holiday without telling anyone… Following a 3-2-1 approach, it contains 3 thoughts from me (that you should ignore), 2 quotes from others (that you should read), and 1 joke that’s so bad, it’s good! Let’s begin! 3 Thoughts: 1)…
Stuck in the Clouds: On Productivity, Meaning and How To Fly an Aircraft
Hello lovely readers and welcome back to my high-flying newsletter! The only newsletter that believes our need for meaning prevents us from finding it. Following a 3-2-1 approach, it contains 3 thoughts from me (that you should ignore), 2 quotes from others (that you should read), and 1 joke that’s so bad, it’s good! Let’s…
The Write Thing To Do
“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” ― GEORGE ORWELL I hate criticism. Yet, I open myself up to it all the time. Not just because I’m an idiot, but deliberately with my writing. As some of you know, I sometimes write about…
Stuck in the Clouds: On Freedom of Speech
Hello lovely readers and welcome back to my high-flying newsletter! The only newsletter that believes sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will do just fine. Following a 3-2-1 approach, it contains 3 thoughts from me (that you should ignore), 2 quotes from others (that you should read), and 1 joke that’s so…
Stuck in the Clouds: On Nihilism
Hello lovely readers and welcome back to my high-flying newsletter! The only newsletter that believes the inherent meaningless of existence is a blank canvas you’re meant to paint meaning on to… And the only newsletter to suggest you should paint it fucking red! Following a 3-2-1 approach, it contains 3 thoughts from me (that you…
Stuck in the Clouds: On Writer’s Block
Hello lovely readers and welcome back to my high-flying newsletter! The only newsletter that tells you to smash through your writer’s block in a fit of rage like the hulk! Following a 3-2-1 approach, it contains 3 thoughts from me (that you should ignore), 2 quotes from others (that you should read), and 1 joke…
Writer’s Roadblock
So I hit a roadblock with my writing recently. I stalled. Ironically while writing a book about stalling and the need to let go to regain lift in life. Instead of doing that, I kept smacking my head against a brick wall. I am the master of not following my own advice. Eventually, I ceded…
Stuck in the Clouds: On the Meaning of Life
Hello lovely readers and welcome back to my high-flying newsletter! The only newsletter that tells you the meaning of life is up to you… Following a 3-2-1 approach, it contains 3 thoughts from me (that you should ignore), 2 quotes from others (that you should read), and 1 joke that’s so bad, it’s good! Let’s…
Stalling: The Paradox of Meaning
“The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness.” —Vladamir Nabokov. “What does nihilism mean? That the highest values devaluate themselves. The aim is lacking; “why?” finds no answer. — Friedrich Nietzsche Meaning is the antidote to an…
Stuck in the Clouds: On Stalling in Life
Hello lovely readers and welcome back to my new and not-at-all improved (except for name) newsletter! It’s the only newsletter that tells you if you want to take control of your life you have to let go… Following a 3-2-1 approach, it contains 3 thoughts from me (that you should ignore), 2 quotes from others…
Stalling: Why We Lose Lift (2)
The Paradox of Progress The story of Buddha is well known. Born into a palace and given every indulgence he could possibly wish for, while, at the same time, shielded from the outside world. And yet, it wasn’t enough. He knew something was off. (Sound familiar?) So, he decided to go against his father’s wishes…
Stalling: Why We Lose Lift
Last week I said the reason we stall in life is because we lose meaning. Of course meaning, lift, purpose (whatever you want to call it) is the reason we do anything. The meaning we give our life is the reason we get out of bed in the morning. Otherwise, why bother? In its deepest…
Stalling: The Aerodynamics of Life
The Four Forces of Flight The reason an aeroplane flies is because of something known as the four forces of flight. Those are thrust, lift, weight and drag. Thrust counteracts drag, whereas lift counteracts weight. If the forces of lift and and thrust are greater than the forces of weight and drag your aeroplane will…
Piecing Together My Thanks
I realise that writing a book is like doing a giant jigsaw puzzle. Except you have to make the pieces first. You make the pieces and then work out where they go. You move them around until everything just sort of clicks into place. Then you flesh out the spaces in between. The hardest part…
A Radical Idea. (I’m Going To Write a Book.)
Just imagine, you’re sat fat, dumb and happy when BAM! Your engine shits itself. (And so do you.) Suddenly you’re forced to divert. You need to get on the ground pronto! Before you know it, there you are. Grounded with a bum engine – a million miles from the original destination you had in mind. So,…
A Singapore Fling
It occurs to me that I’ve gone through something of a divorce over the past year or so. Only, it’s not been to a person but a place. Of course, there have been others. York for one. We had a few difficult years together. Then there was Oxford where I went to university. That was…
The Elephant in the Cockpit
I’m going to stick my neck out today. I’m going to talk about something I’ve been avoiding for certain political and professional reasons for some time now. A topic that is close to my heart. As it turns out, aircrew are extremely reluctant to talk about mental health. On the rare occasions I’ve brought it…
I’m Back
When Micheal Jordan returned from the NBA after an extended hiatus his publicity manager was unsure how they should announce the news. So, he wrote a number of press releases for Micheal to choose from. But Jordan didn’t like any of them. He said, “I’ll do it myself.” before picking up a pen and writing…
The Ghosts of My Past
My emotions come at me in waves. Often I’m strong enough to withstand them – to hold the ship steady – but every now and then they catch me with my shields down. I’m swept away. That happened the other day when the movers came in to pack everything up. Seeing my whole life packed…
The Hand We’ve Been Dealt
I want to finish this series of posts on personality I’ve put together over the past couple of months by giving you an analogy. To first recap, there are five major personality traits: extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, openness and agreeableness. Wherever you lie on the spectrum of each trait – whatever the circumstances that shaped you…
Agreeableness: The Sacrifice of Self
Agreeableness breaks down into Compassion and Politeness. Compassionate people are the caring, loving types. They are sympathetic towards other people’s feelings and take an active interest in their friends and families lives. Polite people are very careful with their words. They have a deep respect for authority and hate to seem pushy or impose their…
Openness: The Gates of Mind
“Openness is seen in the breadth, depth and permeability of consciousness, and in the recurrent need to enlarge and examine experience.”- McCrae & Costa, 1997, p. 826 Openness (which is actually Openness to experience) breaks down into Intellect and Openness. Intellects like grappling with ideas. They love to solve complex problems and debate philosophical matters.…
Conscientiousness: The Ruthless Pursuit of Order.
Of all the interplay between character traits, I find the relationship between conscientiousness and openness the most interesting. The lines are blurred, of course, especially when you break these traits down into their respective aspects, but it appears there is an inverse correlation. This makes sense when you consider that lateral thinking requires taking an…
Neuroticism: The Cost of Consciousness
Neuroticism is the trait associated with negative emotions. Of course, it’s probably the one trait you don’t want to score high on because it sucks to feel bad. Naturally, I score moderately high in neuroticism… It’s worth pointing out that all of us are more sensitive to negative emotions. Human beings are neurotic creatures. This is…
3-2-1 Flying Fridays
Hello lovely readers and welcome back to 3-2-1 Flying Fridays! The only weekly post that never gives up – even when all hope is lost! Following a 3-2-1 approach, it contains 3 thoughts from me (that you should ignore), 2 quotes from others (that you should read), and 1 joke that’s so bad, it’s good!…
Extraversion: The Price of Now
What Is Extraversion? Extraversion breaks down into the following two fundamental aspects: assertiveness and enthusiasm. Those high in assertiveness are the take-charge types. The so-called natural-born leaders. The game-changing alphas. (A valuable trait for a pilot, I might add.) Those high in enthusiasm are talkative and charismatic. They’re the life of the party. The ones who make…
The Big Five Personality Model: An Empirical Tool for Understanding Yourself
The Story of Personality Theory Some 80-plus years ago, researchers embarked on one of the longest (and most boring) projects in human psychology. It started with the idea that people are born with different character traits that remain relatively stable throughout one’s lifetime. Welcome to the idea of personality. To test its validity one researcher -…
Why Understanding Personality Is Key to Increasing Potential
I recently completed a course on personality theory that I found infinitely fascinating. Today I want to share some thoughts about how this understanding can help us better navigate in the world. You can think of personality as the lens through which we view the world. It functions by filtering the world so we only…
3-2-1 Flying Fridays
Hello lovely readers and welcome back to 3-2-1 Flying Fridays! The only weekly post that has a personality disorder… Following a 3-2-1 approach, it contains 3 thoughts from me (that you should ignore), 2 quotes from others (that you should read), and 1 something special (maybe). As a bonus I’ve finished with one joke that’s…
Where We Are Meant To Be
We’re all looking for that Goldilocks position in life. That ultimate purpose specifically suited to our own unique talents and values. Of course, we want to maximise our potential to do the most possible good. This is why many of us have this gnawing sense that the job we’re in isn’t quite right. We feel…
3-2-1 Flying Fridays
Hello lovely readers and welcome back to 3-2-1 Flying Fridays! The only weekly post that takes an extended break without telling anyone… (I missed you all too!) Following a 3-2-1 approach, it contains 3 thoughts from me (that you should ignore), 2 quotes from others (that you should read), and 1 something special (maybe). As…
A Creative Leave of Absence
So my muse decided to take a holiday recently. He packed his bags and went to Hawaii or somewhere. And I know he’s been sitting in the sun drinking Pina Coladas the whole time. That smug bastard. Now, I should say I told him to take a break. The problem is, I’ve found it hard…
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Clear Air Turbulence 