How to fly happy
We all know that in flight, as in life, people have their good moments and their bad moments. Nobody is happy all the time just as no one is always in a foul mood (although I have met a few candidates for the latter distinction). When we’re stuck in a metal tube eight miles in the air with no food to serve, I try to engage the happy travelers in an attempt to learn their secret.
I’ve asked, and I’ve heard an earful. The following is a list of responses from happy travelers that I have encountered in flight.
1. Don’t let one mishap ruin your whole trip. If you run into a rude flight attendant or are delayed and miss your connection, try to put it behind you. After all, you have the whole rest of your trip ahead of you. Just say, “So what?” and move on.
2. Get there early. Leave enough time for the inevitable hassles: traffic jams on the way to the airport, check-in snafus, bathroom breaks for toddlers, slow-moving lines at security — you name it. I have met very few stressed-out passengers who are happy.
3. Be kind to your fellow travelers. Not for them but for you. Courtesy and kindness are contagious and soul-satisfying. And, no, there’s nothing wrong with doing something unselfish for selfish reasons.
4. Don’t brood about what might have been. If you can’t get the upgrade, the special seat, or the rerouting you were hoping for, let it go. Equanimity makes for a more pleasant flight.
5. Listen to music you like. Your iPod makes you a happier traveler. Why? Because when you listen to music you want to hear, the world seems like a better place. Your MP3 player can even make frustrating situations tolerable. Next time you’re stuck in a flight delay, crank up the music and let your fellow travelers star in your own private “reality music video.”
6. Bring a happy place. Carry a small photo collection with you, where you can go to focus on what really matters in life. Now that MP3 players have digital photo players on them, you can upload your favorite memories and listen to music at the same time.
7. Keep busy. Bring a Sudoku collection, a computer, a DVD player, a good book, homework, a book of riddles, letters to read or anything else to keep your mind off the usual worries and annoyances. As the saying goes, “Busy is much better than bored.”
8. Be open-minded. When you fly, you encounter many different people with many different beliefs, styles, looks and — yes — even smells. Open your mind to a new world of possibilities. Even if you don’t agree with someone’s choices, accept and embrace the differences that exist in all of us.
9. See the glass half full, not half empty. It’s not what happens, but how you think about what happens. If your plane has a mechanical problem that causes a delay or cancellation, you could go into a tirade about your bad luck or you could be thankful that nothing will go wrong midflight. There is a good side to everything in life; you just have to find it.
10. Laugh it up. I believe the most important asset in travel, and in life, is the ability to laugh at yourself. If you can’t laugh at yourself, you can’t really have fun. My wife and I have been married for 14 years now, and we spend most of our time together laughing. If we’ve survived that long on laughter, surely you can laugh your way through a flight from Atlanta to Denver.
On one of my flights, I had an older gentleman as a passenger who beamed with smiles and had spells of all-out laughter. He kept this up the whole flight, even though the plane was full, service was slow and he was crammed into a middle seat. At times he laughed so hard, tears would trickle down his cheeks. When I asked what was so funny, he said he’d let me know at the end of the flight.
When we landed and most of the passengers had disembarked, the gentleman pulled me aside and told me . he had a remote-control fart-noise machine in his carry-on bag; it was a gift for his grandson. He had put it in an overhead bin away from his own seat, near an obnoxious passenger who was complaining about everything. Every time the complainer started to whine, the older man would push a button and a different unmentionable sound would erupt over the malcontent’s head.
Apparently, the fart machine had the whole row in hysterics for most of the flight, until the loudmouth was finally silenced. The old gentleman said he had never laughed so hard in his life, and that his grandson was going to have to wait for his gift because he was keeping this one for himself.
OK, remote-control devices are no longer allowed onboard U.S. aircraft, but it just goes to show that laughter can make a big difference.
So next time you fly, take some tips from the smiling side of the aisle. Don’t worry. Be happy.