Something continues to bother me about the recently released cockpit transcripts from the ill-fated Colgan Air commuter plane that crashed in Buffalo last February. The pilots of that plane got caught in a trap that most of us deal with, too.
As the pilots chatted, it was obvious that they had observed certain clues that this was a "high alert" situation and not just an ordinary landing. They noticed the ice buildup on the wings. And yet, they apparently didn't grasp the significance of their observations.
The powers that be have determined that other factors besides ice contributed to the plane's crashing. Regardless, I strongly suspect that if the pilots had grasped that they were in a high risk situation, their focus on the landing would have changed. They would have been in "high alert" mode. Chances are, they would have begun rehearsing their options in mind in order to be prepared to react quickly. When that "make or break" opportunity arose, they would have responded appropriately.
Instead, they chatted. They completely missed the significance of what was going on around them. From time to time, most of us do the same thing. Let's consider how that same "red flag warning system" affects you and me every day with respect to our health.
Merriam-Webster's online dictionary explains that "significance" refers to a situation where there is present a particular quality or characteristic that should mark it as important, but where the importance is not self-evident and may be overlooked.
Another way to say this is that the situation may be observed, but the potential ramifications of the observation may not be immediately obvious.
Most of us who drive a car understand the potential ramifications of an empty fuel tank. The car's about to stop. But it is not self evident from a low fuel gauge that the car may soon stop running. There is a particular "connect" that needs to happen in a person's mind in order to "get" that low fuel equals car will not run. Most of us do get that when it comes to the gas tank.
Yet when it comes to certain health-related cues, we sometimes miss. In particular, these three cues that something's off may be easily overlooked:
- Pain. Have you ever heard of someone who had chest or upper back pain, did not recoginze it as a sign of heart trouble, and subsequently dropped dead of a heart attack? I have. In fact, he was a really nice guy in his mid-40's. Other types of pain may also be overlooked or misunderstood. Physical pain is generally a signal that something is wrong.
- Fatigue. Most of us occasionally miss out on a few winks of sleep and feel tired the next day. Then we catch up and feel better. What I'm talking about here is a deep fatigue that doesn't go away with an extra measure of sleep. More like exhaustion. Perhaps you know, as I do, some cases where that deep fatigue was the person's first indication of what later turned out to be a serious health problem.
- Emotional imbalance. Typically this occurs as either a sense of hopelessness, anger, or excessive irritation. Again, this is a signal that something is wrong. While people sometimes think "oh, that is just how I feel and it's no big deal," the reality is that it is a big deal. Emotions generate hormonal changes in the body and they influence behavior. Good feelings generate good hormones. Those are the ones we want!
Now here's the thing. It's not healthy to run around your life looking for problems. In fact, one of the healthiest choices that most of us can make every day is to focus on things that make us feel good.
That's why it's so important to notice when something's a bit off. Part of how you do that is by tuning in to your feeling level. Pain, fatigue, and imbalanced emotions are all signals that deserve your attention. They are important. They are not a normal part of a normal life.
The most healthy of perspectives is to act quickly to nip things in the bud and get back to feeling good! To focus on the "goodest" you can possibly feel today and enhance that state in order to feel even better tomorrow. Why? Because feeling good is the signal that your life is on track. And that's the goal, right?
Elizabeth Eckert can help you explore how simple everyday choices create health — or undermine even the best of intentions. With a background that ranges from energy medicine to structural bodywork to developmental psychology, this "Stick-To-It Coach" has the experience to support you in creating the healthiest possible expression of — you!
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