I'm not a fan of flying. I have a pretty good cognitive grasp of the physics, engineering tolerances, flight crew's ongoing training and testing procedures. But a small irrational part of me has a tendency, unbidden, to come to the conclusion that this is 'the end'.

One suggestion is that a fear of flying relates to a lack of control, but really the only thing you can really control is your perspective.

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There is a 'family' album on my phone which I enjoy just prior to taxiing, and active noise cancelling headphones were a great investment. I also tend to distract myself during the flight, by shooting and editing timelapses or travel videos, and doing things like writing this post.

Life Audit

Mortal fear, even when unwarranted, is however a great opportunity for a life audit. What are you doing today, that it might be beneficial to reduce or stop as they add less to your life than they take away? Which are the things you would wish you had done... if this was the end?

Over the years this has led to some tweaks to my lifestyle, to make my working conditions healthier and overhauling some over habits.

I also returned to the classroom, and as a volunteer teach primary children to code. (Always over subscribed, despite being after school on a Friday).

It's amazing what you learn, when you try to teach something.

And also to tentatively start a site/community helping less/non-technical parents and guardians to support their children in exploring coding: Code.Parents().

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Embarking on writing my first book, was always going to be a significant challenge, but I grew to realise I had shied away from it due to a lack of confidence, but found the experience and subsequent feedback, extremely rewarding.

One of the most impactful changes, was to significantly change the pattern of my working week. With fantastic support from my employer earlier this year I changed to part time working.

Which has given me the time, energy and focus to be more 'present' with my family, and to better support my wife in pursuing some of the challenges and opportunities that she is passionate about. Namely 'Seymour Potential' which is her school sport specialist consultancy, and her small (but perfectly formed) business Save Your Past Ltd..

Give yourself the freedom to do your best work, to be your better you.

What fears might potentially be holding you back?

I recently gave a talk on this subject at MKGN - here are the slides, and hopefully there will be audio to come: