I’m going to back into my “hello” with the goodbye…
Recently re-inventing myself, I’ve returned home full-time after living out a Bucket List Adventure as a flight attendant. (Really.) It was the most fun, frustrating, rewarding and story-filled chapter of my working life, but changes in the industry (the “norm”) and the realization that my kids will be leaving the nest all-too-soon forced me to reevaluate the worth of adventure at 34,000 feet versus adventure in my own backyard…for the time being, anyway.
As a flight attendant for a great regional airline, I enjoyed the frustrations and rewards of flying as the only cabin crew on many of my flights (most often 50 passenger jets and 34 passenger props). While a little intimidating at first, I came to embrace the freedoms and opportunities of creating my “own little world” on each leg; I was responsible for setting the tone in the cabin on each flight I worked. In spite of the popular belief that air travel and travelers had to be/were miserable, I decided not to let irritable, rude or inattentive passengers define my experience or day. In fact, I was convinced there were lots of interesting, kind and helpful people boarding my flights all the time.
In training, we were taught that “the hello moment” was the most important moment on a flight; it only takes a person a few seconds to determine how a flight, or other experience, will go (on either side of the equation). Creating a rapport with people, communication style and establishing leadership are some key elements that can be determined in that simple, little “Hello!” Even though it sounded too simple (and even corny) at first, I found it to be true: on the plane, at the airport, in another country or in my own neighborhood. Seriously, I didn’t believe it myself when I heard that…
Taking advantage of the freedom as the only Inflight Goddess (as well as upgrading my job title?), I loved visiting with all those potentially fascinating people on my flights. One of my favorite things was to ask a “random question of the flight,” listening to people’s answers as I waited for the Diet Cokes to stop fizzing. After hundreds of flights, I landed on “the” question that consistently provided good, easy conversation (even with the initially grumpy ones): What simple things in life make you smile? That question became “my thing.” I’m pretty sure I’ll never be able to share all the really great stories people shared with me as a result of that simple question, but they did inspire me to spend more of my time focusing on the positive things in my life. Or day. Or hour.
So, “Hello!” I hope you’ll find something in my blog that makes you smile…
