In the world of health and safety there is an accident prevention concept known as the Bird triangle. This postulates that there is a linkage between unusual incidents, near misses, and minor accidents and the occurrence of serious accidents and major incidents. The notion is that the more minor issues that are present then the greater the likelihood that there will be a significant issue. From this concept the best performing organizations have built a safety culture based upon reducing the frequency or preventing minor issues. Management procedures for good housekeeping and safety inspections, investigation of unusual incidents and near misses, inclusive investigations of minor accidents and the implementation and communication of remedial actions, all contribute to keeping people safe at work.

I also think that this concept is applicable to personal wellbeing- in that there could be a cumulative effect of dealing with lots of minor stressors which eventually reach a tipping point and may become overwhelming. Thus to help maintain a balance in our lives it may be beneficial in routinely dealing with these stressors in a timely manner. Prevention being the much better option than cure – and hence a way of increasing our personal resilience.

To give a a real and very personal example of this.

I was 27 years of age when I first set foot on an aeroplane- going abroad for a vacation to Corfu. On the return flight, over the Alps, the plane suffered terrible turbulence and dropped like a stone – many thousands of feet. Passengers were shaken, covered in food and drink – some with minor burns from hot drinks. On landing the plane was met by ambulances to help the 3 cabin crew members who had sustained significant injuries. All in all, a very unpleasant experience which left a significant impact on my wife and myself.

Three years later I was appointed to a role that involved global travel – a terrific career opportunity – but my travel induced anxiety levels increased exponentially. At one point things were so bad, I wondered whether I could live this life and fulfill the role. Emotion was overwhelming rational thought. I badly needed coping mechanisms. Over a short period of time I gave this a lot of thought, talked to colleagues who were seasoned travelers, and tried to come up with ideas to make the flying process more tolerable.

I knew that I could do nothing about the risk of turbulence- Mother Nature and physics beyond my control but I did recognize that there were other stressors around the travel experience. I came up with the following process which, with a few tweaks, has served me well over the last 40 years.

• Fly with a reputable airline – anxiety reduction trumps low cost.
• case packed and business papers ready 24 hours in advance.
• contact details at hand- itinerary given to family.
• get to the airport early- an hour before is better than a minute late.
• no matter how busy the airport I have a standard check in process, refusing to be pressured by busy airline staff.I leave the desk only when passport, boarding pass and luggage tags are in their designated place.
• get to the gate on time – avoid being seduced by the lure of shops.
• seat selection always an aisle – wear seatbelt even if flat calm.
• be conscious of well-being by avoiding fatigue and keeping hydrated.
• have access to my two main stress relief tools – music and reading.

Using this process, combined with continued reassurance that flying is still the safest form of travel, meant that anxiety around travel is minimized. I still do not enjoy flying but I have managed to cope with it over my lifetime, covering millions of miles.

When we look at our lives there are lots of stressors we have to deal with – by identifying them and dealing with them proactively we take better control and this in turn makes our lives so much better.