An ATR-72 airplane needs a 1500-meter-long (1.5 KM) runway to take off. An Airbus A380 needs a runway that is 3000 meters (3 KM) in length. Both aircraft operate more or less in the same manner. The runway length they require alters and is based on the size and speed they need during take-off. Similar is the case with our thoughts.

Our time and effort are the runways we require to manifest our thoughts into reality. We need to put in more time and effort when our goals are higher.

Similarly, an airplane requires a lift, which is the force directly opposing the weight of an airplane. It holds the airplane in the air. In our life, this lift is akin to the friends, colleagues, and stakeholders that we have who work with us. They motivate us to keep moving toward our goals.

We must remain focused on the direction we are moving in. This is like the ‘heading’ of an airplane. It should remain constant. However, while we are moving in our direction, we should explore our surroundings and observe the world.

Pilots and passengers do look out of the window to see the passing by fields, cities, and oceans. It is indeed imperative to focus on our direction but observation is equally important. It adds value to our cognition. The destinations in our lives and for an airplane—are important. However, we should take time to explore the surroundings because we remember the journey and the experience we gain. Similar to how pilots develop muscle memory and insights on how to operate the instrument panel, you must also know how to operate your life. Aspects such as financial management, time management, crisis and conflict management, relationship management, and priorities management, among others should be looked upon and focused on with precision.

Our time and efforts to complete a task are primarily related to our intention and how much we are willing to complete them. It is the passion that lets us work with dedication while overcoming obstacles. An obstacle for an airplane is the headwind, which blows at it from the front. An airplane requires a headwind to create lift. The airplane uses its wings and engine to use this headwind to its advantage during take-off.

The headwind in our life includes the pessimists who talk ill about our plans and dreams and the challenges we face. We must also use the negative emotions thrown at us to create the motivation to prove them wrong while moving towards our goals.

An airplane also teaches us to avoid making hasty decisions. Imagine if a pilot suddenly steers a plane. The passengers will experience turbulence and vertigo. We must also make calculated decisions. To put it into perspective, our life is not too much different from an airplane. We are in command of our life the way a pilot steers the plane. Our parents, siblings, and friends depend on us just the way the passengers depend on the pilots and their decisions.

Muhammad Omar Iftikhar

The writer is a fiction writer, columnist and author of, ‘Divided Species’—a sci-fi story set in Karachi.  He tweets  @omariftikhar