Now what? What am I going to do now?
He’s an excellent tip that will keep things in a manageable perspective. A test pilot has a test for evaluating potential problems. When something goes wrong, they ask this question, ‘Is this thing still flying?’
If the answer is yes, then there’s no immediate danger, no need to overreact.
When the Apollo 12 took off, the spacecraft was struck by lightning. The entire console glowed with orange and red trouble lights. First thought was, ‘Do Something!’ But the pilots first asked themselves this question, ‘Is this thing still flying in the right direction?’ The answer was yes—they were still headed up and to the moon. They let the lights glow and they addressed the individual problems one by one. They addressed the problems and watched those orange and red lights blink out, one by one. That’s something to think about in any pressure situation.
Timothy Dickert 