Page 139 - Never Fly Solo

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wingmen hanging, and, finally, to serve those who needed
help. But it was also my fear of being thought a coward by
my wingmen that pushed me to strap in and fly. My fear of
shame and being seen as weak actually eclipsed my fear of
having a panic attack!
In business, project managers often push through projects
when they know they should abort, for fear of being rebuked
by their bosses. New sales reps are afraid to raise their hand
at company meetings for verification on policies or proce-
dures, for fear that others will think they are incompetent.
Regional sales reps keep spending time on unproductive leg-
acy accounts. The list of examples goes on and on.
I share this with you now because my courage builders
were not present when I strapped into the F-16 at Morón Air
Base in Spain. Because I couldn’t find something to focus on
that was greater than my fear of claustrophobia, I aborted. I
couldn’t find meaning in my mission. I didn’t have a higher
calling. There weren’t people to save. My wingmen didn’t
absolutely need me to fly that day. It was not combat. I didn’t
have to fly.
The only thing at stake was my ego. I was too afraid of
looking like a wimp and embarrassing myself to do the right
thing and abort—right up until the start-engine signal. Have
you ever been guilty of that? Our egos can truly impair our
judgment and force us to do things we know we shouldn’t.
Egos incite fear. Fear unfaced leads to doubt. Doubt is
what robs us of our warrior spirit.
Instead of hanging on to that mission and flying for the
wrong reasons—to save face—I realized that by aborting, I was
doing myself and my wingmen a huge favor. By not acting out
of false bravado and pretending to be a hero, I avoided a poten-