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If there’s one thing that can cause me to lose my sh*t it’s Southwest Airlines. Never mind their ridiculous boarding process, they only fly in sunshine. When you’ve got an evening flight this makes things difficult, as the sun isn’t shining. Tonight is no exception.
I spent the day in STL teaching some of my most *favorite* people ever about maintaining emotional control when things get stressful. Tonight I’m gonna have to take my own advice.
So, for those of you who need a gentle reminder of how to not lose your mess when Southwest happens, here you go.
1. Recognize and let go of the things you can’t control. In this case I can’t control when my flight leaves.
2. List the things you can control. A few examples…I can control my reaction. I can control how I spend my time. I can control if I have one glass of wine or 12. You get the point.
3. Once you’ve listed things you can control create a game plan about how you’re going to weather the storm. I’ve decided I’m going only have one glass of wine. Then I’m going to charge my phone, call a friend, and catch up. After that I’m going to watch two episodes of my latest tv obsession, The Closer.
4. Give yourself permission to take care of you. Due to my flight delay this evening I won’t get home until close to 3 am. Instead of waking up at 7:00 like usual, I’m going to let myself sleep in as late as I want. Sleep cures all, so I’m going to give myself permission to do so.
5. Send angry texts to people I am close to about how much I don’t like Southwest (hey, I’m not perfect ????).
Seriously, when things happen out of your control it can feel very terrible. By remembering what you can control it won’t solve the problem. But it can remind you that you have choices on how you behave. And that’s a starting point to ensure you aren’t put on a “no fly” list.