Flight Plan for Success: Navigating Life's 1 in 60 Rule

In March of 1979, a sightseeing plane crashed into the side of a mountain in Antarctica killing all of the 279 travelers and staff on board.

An investigation revealed that the crew had not been informed of a two-degree correction made to the plane's flight path the night before.

This mistake caused the plane's navigation system to route them toward Mount Erebus instead of through McMurdo Sound.

Two degrees doesn't sound like a lot, but in aviation terms, even one degree is huge.

That's why pilots are taught the 1 in 60 rule, which states that after 60 miles a one degree error in heading will result in straying off course by one mile (or more if traveling further.)

What does this mean?

It means the goal you set out to hit, you may crash and burn instead (not literally of course.)

The point of this is to hammer home the importance of course correction, checking progress, knowing if what you are doing is helping you toward the right direction.

Working harder on the wrong thing, will only lead you further away from your real goal.

What Most People Do:

Most people have a general idea of what they want.

Be healthy, feel better, lose weight.

But they aren't specific, which is part of the reason nothing gets done.

Be healthy, feel better and lose weight can mean a million different things to a million different people.

What specifically does it mean to you?

You lack clarity.

And you can see now why this doesn't work.

What To Do:

The people who accomplish their dreams, goals and vision create a process, systems, frameworks that align with their target. They create routines, habits and have an agenda for how they will do it each day.

They also, contrary to what you might think, don't worry or obsess over it. Because when you KNOW something to be true, why worry?

I use this analogy often with my clients but think of it like this.

If you are getting into your car to go to the grocery store to get milk, you don't think or worry about how to get there. In fact, you might even pull into the parking lot and if you were thinking of something else you might even wonder how you got there.

Its automatic. No thought. No worry.

Because you KNOW you've got this. You KNOW you can get there.

There is no question of "if" or "how"

Whey you have systems and a process to follow you become obsessed with the execution.

Obsessed with eliminating distraction and weeding out what takes away from achievement.

The biggest lesson of the 1- 60 rule?

You stay on course with constant reflection and evaluation.

How to Execute:

To put this into practice you must follow 5 steps

1. Set a measurable goal. Be specific and know what your target is exactly. If you don't know what your aiming for, how do you know where to go? how to navigate?
Ex. You don't want to lose weight, you want to lose 40 lbs. Again, specifics matter.

2. Create a process to achieve it. Its only with specifics can you create a specific path to completion. Losing 40 lbs will demand a caloric deficit, movement, nutrient dense foods, some exercise and stress management. With these you can carve out a path that makes sense for your personal preference and needs.

3. Anticipate and see obstacles before they happen. This one is WILDY underutilized. We all think that with the perfect plan we can expect an smooth ride to the top. We neglect that there will be bumps in the road and we have to be able to see them ahead of time. Have work dinners once every 2 weeks? Have work parties? birthday parties? work travel? You have to anticipate these weeks in advance so that you can steer the course accordingly to your destination.

You don't want to be like the Titanic and hit the iceberg before its too late.

4. Forget the goal. Focus on the process and the goal will be a natural byproduct of your effort, focus and attention. Worrying is spending precious time, energy on something that doesn't serve a purpose. Again, why worry about something you KNOW to be true?

5. Track and adjust course if/when needed. Good news is because you have a clear plan and process, you can reflect on it often to see if you're moving in the right direction. Its clear after a week or two, if you haven't lose weight, that adjusting course is probably needed. Sometimes its reworking a new plan, often times its seeing that you haven't executed the original plan to perfection.

Either way, you have feedback that you wouldn't have if you didn't create a thought out, intentional plan with a real goal.

I can't tell you how often I come across this in my coaching, especially in the beginning.

The worst plan is one that doesn't exist and that has been the case for most people.
The second worst plan is one that has no depth, meaning or clarity.