A Law That Will Outlaw Many of Your Worries

I have been blessed to travel many places in my life.  From family vacations across the country while growing up to studying abroad in Italy during grad school, I have stepped on a plane numerous times. Flying never caused me anxiety until three years ago... when I became a mom.  I experience anxiety now when I fly - I think because there is so much more at stake.

This past December I flew to Boston for a Dale Carnegie certification training.  While there, I read a newspaper headline about the fatality rate for flying in 2011.  I learned that one person in 7.1 million passengers died last year as a result of flying.  One in 7.1 million.  Those are pretty good odds for staying alive and kickin'!

Now whenever I board a plane and the anxiety starts to set in, I remember that statistic.  It's a lifesaver for my sanity!  As Dale Carnegie said, "You and I could probably eliminate nine-tenths of our worries right now if we would cease our fretting long enough to discover whether, by the law of averages, there was any real justification for our worries."

The next time you find yourself worrying, stop for a moment and really think about your odds.  Ask yourself, "What are the chances, according to the law of averages, that this event I am worrying about will ever occur?"  Hopefully you can take a deep breath and enjoy where the journey takes you that day!