Flight Tip: Start at 100 and Count Down

Lately, I've become a nervous traveler. I was never like this - in fact, I was one of the best travelers I know. I blame the "weigh me" plane, but alas, I have to fly and there will be turbulence. 

Saturday morning I awoke to rain storms, fog and potential thunderstorms in the area. By the time I arrived at the airport for my 12:00 p.m. flight, I had already experienced two minor panic attacks. My parents wanted to see me and I wasn't going to let them down. 

I got on the plane.

The pilot came on the loudspeaker and announced, "Folks, it's going to be a little bumpy getting out of here, but once we're passed Philadelphia it should be smooth flying down to Florida." Philadelphia is more than an hour away. This is going to suck. I sat back, opened my book and took long deep breaths.

The first wave of turbulence took us on a ride about 20 minutes into the flight. I stopped, closed my eyes and started counting backwards from 100. I don't know what number I stopped on, but I know the turbulence ended before I reached 1. It made a huge difference in my less-than-calm composure.

I don't know where I picked up this tip, but I'll using this flight tip for future flights. (Check out the hundreds of other flight tips from other travelers.)