A Safety Manual For Relationships?

Flying in an airplane for most of us is a relatively low-stress experience. We don’t board an aircraft expecting the worst-case scenario or clutch our seats tightly expecting engine failure and a crash landing at each cloudy bump in the sky.

Photo by Leio McLaren on Unsplash

Why?

Because we are trained from the first step into the aircraft about the exit plan in case things go wrong. There is a logical sequence of events to follow in case things go contrary to expectations.

Imagine if relationships had a similar onboarding process…

Congratulations:

On finding someone seemingly compatible and attractive enough to embark on a journey together.

Warning:

• In case of turbulence, buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy ride but you will be fine. This too shall pass and you will continue at cruising altitude as soon as the relationship goes through the storm.
• If the pressure of being committed gets to you, grab on to the oxygen mask of support from friends and family and… breathe.
• In the case of an emergency landing, brace for impact. There are procedures to follow but really, the worst case scenario is unlikely to happen, so relax and enjoy the journey.
• The exit doors are marked, follow the signs when it gets so dark and confusing that everybody starts to panic. There is always a way out. Hopefully you don’t have to use it until the relationship arrives at its intended destination.

In the event of failure of certain parts of the relationship, there would be clear procedures to follow, giving us the ability to think clearly. In the absence of such knowledge on how to deal with difficult situations, we adopt a fight-flight response behavior, potentially derailing any growth opportunity for the relationship.

There’s also the stringent list of safety checks, professional pilots in charge and governing bodies that demand safety first long before you step into an aircraft.

If we adopted a similar stringent process in selecting partners, vetted through checks from others (friends and family know what’s good for you) and insisted on flying with someone stable, reliable, trustworthy, accountable, loyal, committed, kind, generous and patient…

Relationships would suffer far less casualties and the sky would indeed be the limit for the things you could do together ;)