#029 – Air Rage & Optimism vs Pessimism

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Bringing 5 interesting ideas to your inbox every Thursday morning to ignite your curiosity and drive your growth.

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#029 at a Glance:

• Quote that will get you thinking: People will forget everything except this one thing.

• Podcast you should listen to: The 30-year-old Football Manager competing in Europe’s Top 5 Leagues.

• Mental Model: Optimism early, pessimism in the middle, optimism late.

• Interesting Phenomenon: The biggest trigger for airplane rage.

• Tweet I liked: The only real business advice you need.

Quote that will get you thinking:

Podcast you should listen to:

The High Performance Podcast E213: Will Still

Will Still is a professional football manager currently managing Ligue 1 club, Stade de Reims, in France. At just 30 years of age, he is the youngest football manager in Europe’s top 5 professional leagues. Absolutely mental. To put this into perspective for the non-football fans reading this, the average age of all managers in the English Premier League this season is 49.

Will shares how he deals with external pressure, what it’s like being an outsider, how to get people to “buy in” to your mission, and when to back yourself.

His story is a testament to the power of authenticity and resilience when you don’t necessarily fit the mould. His journey serves as a stark reminder that the road to success becomes much easier when we begin embracing our true selves.

Refreshingly inspiring and motivating.

Listen on Spotify here. Listen on Apple Podcasts here. Watch on YouTube here.

Mental Model:

Optimism early, pessimism in the middle, optimism late 

James Clear on optimism vs pessimism in the pursuit of meaningful progress when working towards an objective:

• Optimism Early: Your starting position has to be somewhat optimistic or you'll talk yourself out of getting started. Believing in what you are about to do does not guarantee success, but a lack of belief can prevent it.

• Pessimism in the Middle: Once you've committed, pessimism becomes useful. Question things. Find holes in your plan. Hold yourself to a high standard and try to identify your mistaken beliefs before they become your misplaced actions.

• Optimism Late: After you've spent some time troubleshooting, it's back to optimism again. Nothing will ever be perfect, but you have to act anyway. Progress requires the courage to forge ahead despite the inevitable obstacles.

Absolutely brilliant. I feel like it concisely captures something that we all inherently follow but are not consciously aware of.

Interesting Phenomenon:

The biggest trigger for airplane rage

We can all probably recall a time when we witnessed either first-hand or through video, ‘air rage’ on airplanes.

What would you typically assume to be the most prominent catalyst for these behaviourally obnoxious and socially uncomfortable bursts of outrage?

Aggressive disagreements between passengers? Disrespectful or discriminatory flight attendants? Simply intoxicated morons?

Interestingly, it’s actually none of those things.

According to fascinating research compiled by Michael Easter:

• Flights that have a First Class cabin have 4x increased rates of air rage.

• On planes where you need to walk through First Class to get to economy, it’s 9x.

That is simply wild to me.

More than any other trigger, the need to walk through the First Class cabin and into cattle class territory increases the likelihood of air rage by 9x.

Typically, the ‘airport experience’ is already quite chaotic. You need to worry about baggage, tickets, passports, gate numbers, flight numbers, and the list goes on, complicated further when travelling with kids.

This all means that by the time most adults step onto the plane, they are already more or less on edge.

And when presented with a glaring reminder of:

1. The fruits of financial success.

2. The comparatively uncomfortable experience they are about to endure.

That seems to be the recipe for air rage disaster.

Reminders of status certainly can have real-world effects.

Tweet I liked:

That’s all for this week, thanks for reading!

Grateful for your support.

Stay hungry, stay humble, & stay curious. ⚡

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