Lovefly® Blog - Stay With the Discomfort

 Stay with the discomfort...

When working towards being free of fear, any fear, it can be uncomfortable.  We have witnessed this over the last 20+ years time and time again when people face their fear of flying.

You might be thinking - 'That is so Captain Obvious!'  Tell us something we don't know...

Beating a fear of flying means staying with the discomfort. As you start to think more and more about flying, getting onto an aircraft, sitting in a seat, them closing the doors...it will make you feel uncomfortable for a while.  Your brain, desperate to protect you from discomfort, will want you to run away and avoid feeling uncomfortable. This is a normal and important part of the process.

Changing automatic patterns of behaviour takes some time.  In fact, you need to stick with it in spite of feeling rubbish.  Another way to look at the discomfort is this way - you are doing the right thing. You are doing the right work towards getting rid of the fear. If you think about flying with no discomfort then, you are not even entertaining the possibility of flying whatsoever.  

So, in summary, stay with the discomfort. It shows progress. On the other side of discomfort is a great place.

Take care,

Paul and the Lovefly Team

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Lovefly® Blog - Miracle on the Hudson

Hudson River Landing

15th January 2021 was the anniversary of the 'Miracle on the Hudson' as it was called in the press that day.

Found this newspaper heading today and I am so relieved to see the correct wording.

'On January 15, 2009, US Airways Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger became an overnight hero when he and his crew safely ditched a commercial airliner in the freezing waters of the Hudson River after an unlucky encounter with a flock of geese. All 155 passengers and crew aboard survived.'

Many media sources, on the day, said, 'Aircraft crash lands into the Hudson river.' This is incorrect terminology and I am not just saying this to be pedantic. The pilots did not crash into the river. It was a controlled landing and a practiced procedure called a 'ditching.'  This is something all pilots practice in the simulators and thankfully, never get to do in real life. 

There are ditching procedures and processes that the cabin crew and pilots are trained to execute - this is worldwide training specific to different aircraft types.

Both Captain Sully and SFO Jeffrey Bruce "Jeff" Skiles did an amazing job. Also it is remarkable to note that they may not have even worked together before. This just shows how well trained all pilots are and that they have to trust each from the outset. 

That day, those two pilots and cabin crew showed us just how well prepared commercial aviation is for when things don't go to plan. Thank you, we have all learned a lot from that incident which is shared in the international flying community.

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Best airlines for nervous flyers?

We saw this article discussing best airlines for nervous flyers...Thought it was interesting so we have shared the link here.  Airfarewatchdog is a great site and they have produced this article naming the 11 best airlines for the nervous flyer. This is based on a combination of several factors. One is these factors is their rating on the excellent site 'airlineratings.com' plus, the comfort available to passengers.   That is a crude summary as I want you to read the article and find out more...

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More help available

You know that you were not born with this fear of flying. It is something that is learned and once we get into unhelpful thought and behavioural patterns, it seems impossible to shift them. Not so.  On this site, there are links to our podcasts and other blogs.  You can also get a free copy of my book today...This is £10 on Amazon and has a foreword by Sir Richard Branson...it is free still if, you go to the landing pages of either of these sites

Lovefly

Paul Tizzard

Take care, 

Paul and the lovefly team

Podcast Link

Lovefly® Blog - Fear of flying...don't suffer in silence

 Don't Suffer in Silence

1 in 5 people suffer from fear of flying - you are not alone. A lot of people do not realise how much help is actually available to them.  I am not just talking about professionals like us helping you...I am talking about onboard the aircraft itself.

Many people fly and don't take advantage of the amazing crew that are trained to help you. Please let the airline know that you are a nervous flyer.  Let them know beforehand because, the larger airlines will include that in the pre flight briefing for the crew.  Once the cabin crew know that that you are onboard, they will help you as much as you can.

We were talking this week on our podcast with Sarah Fowler, onboard manager for Virgin Atlantic Airways, about this very topic. If you missed that podcast, you can search for it in your normal podcast places such as Spotify - search for 'lovefly fear of flying help.' Or, you can access it from here. You will be very reassured by what Sarah talks about.

Smaller and short haul airlines might not be quite so geared up for helping you onboard. That is due to the shorter flight length - not because they don't care.

Also this week, we were talking to Gill Harvey-Bush who is a superb mindset coach.  She was talking about beating fear and overcoming limiting beliefs.  I have known Gill for years and she also worked with me on the Virgin Flying Without Fear programme many years ago. Here what she has to say here.  She has some great tips for the nervous flyer too.  Link here.

In the meantime, if you want a headstart on getting rid of your fear, go to this site for a free copy of my book, 'Helping You to Overcome Fear of Flying' with a foreword by Sir Richard Branson. It is £10 on Amazon so, free is good!  www.lovefly.co.uk or www.paultizzard.co.uk

Take care

Paul and the Lovefly Team

P.S. Make sure you grab a free copy of the book before they go