A few years ago, my small plane and I were flying in clouds, when unexpected severe turbulence hit, and the aircraft became hard to control. We train for these moments.

If everything suddenly seems out of control, learn to respond as pilots do:

a. Learn how to calm yourself. Don’t waste energy on being upset. Easiest is to take a deep breath to 6, hold for 2 seconds and release to a count of 8. 

a. Slow down. Pull the throttle back and put your gear down. Maybe you’re trying to do too much, more than even possible. The pandemic’s message is to slow down and rethink what’s going on in your life. Maybe you shouldn’t be doing more, you should slow down and do less. Let go of what brings no reward or is no fun.

c. Do a shallow turn and get out. Why take a chance? You know there’s better air somewhere else. You’re never stuck with the choices you’ve made. You can revise any decision.

Aircraft are designed to handle turbulence. So are you.