"@klm I have fond memories of my 1st flt to Europe on KLM, many yrs. ago - interesting thing happened, too. (Hmmm - there's a blog post!)"
— Marianna Paulson (@AuntieStress) May 18, 2013
"@auntiestress We are glad to hear that, Marianna. So, when are you flying with us next for making more memories? :-)"
— Royal Dutch Airlines (@KLM) May 18, 2013
A memory was awakened when I saw @KLM in my tweet stream.
A long time ago, when flight attendants were still called stewards and stewardesses, I took my first flight to Europe aboard KLM. It was Tourist Season. When I finally inched my way to the check-in counter, the attendant informed me that tourist class was filled. *Pssssst!* That was the sound of the air escaping my balloon of excitement. However, just like that Bad News, Good News Game, he informed me that he would move me into Business Class.
For a first trip overseas, I was soaring. Slippers, a little kit of amenities and leg room!
However, once we had reached cruising altitude, a very handsome flight attendant politely asked if I wouldn't mind giving up my seat in order for a couple to sit together.
*Grumble. Grumble. Grumble.*
The black thoughts rolled through my head like a fast-approaching storm front. Then, my manners kicked in, and I got up to follow the flight attendant...
...up the stairs and into KLM's Royal Class! What a memorable way in which to celebrate my first overseas flight. Fantastic service, great food, fine company and the Royal Treatment! Thank you KLM!
It was also a propitious sign post. I've noticed that when you give up something, you often get something else that is bigger than you can imagine.
It could be something as simple as giving up a seat or as large as your time, effort, skill, dedication and determination. You just never know until you trust and take that risk chance.
So, how do you get comfortable with chance-taking?
Possess good emotional management skills. This builds resilience and allows you to take things in stride when that chance doesn't turn out in your favour. If it doesn't turn out in your favour, those same emotional management skills allow you to see other possibilities - to make yogurt out of curdled milk or, in other words, lemonade out of lemons.
Emotional management skills allow you to:
- rise up from disappointment
- seek out the positive in situations
- celebrate the successes of your friends, family members and colleagues
- deal gracefully with bad news
- handle a crisis
- bounce back quicker from upsets
If you give up five hours, you get a foundation to help you increase your resiliency, while addressing your stress. Contact me for a no-obligation chat.
Who knows to what heights you'll soar?
Marianna,
Thank you for another illustrative post – painting a vivid picture with your own experience while also teaching us a lesson.
Disappointment is no stranger to anyone on this planet; you live long enough, you will be able to enumerate a few–if not a lot. However, as you point out so eloquently, the gains we can achieve by virtue of having initially been given some ‘bad news’ are often so great that the upset was worth it, in the long run.
We all should take time to connect those dots occasionally, to remember that life is full of surprises, both good and bad, and often, the difficult surprises are surpassed by the Royal rewards!
Jacqui
Jacqui,
I feel like I’m receiving the royal treatment whenever you make time to serve up a comment.
Yes, we’ve all had our share of disappointments, haven’t we?
If you live long enough – reminds me of this: http://auntiestress.com/ns/2008/12/02/happy-birthday-to-me/.
Here’s to more dot-connecting!
Hi Marianna,
Thought you might like this: “On the road, serendipity is given space to enter my life.” ― Andrew McCarthy.
May we strive for that when living our daily lives too. Loving your 5-Star ✩ post!
Jackie
You thought correctly, Jackie! I do like that quote.
It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen 5 stars on my page! 🙂