Flying into the Wind May Be the Best Option

It’s a common belief in the world of ideas and investing that heading into the wind is not a good idea.  We often hear that it is best to have the wind at your back and to invest in the trend.  Don’t go against the flow, the current!  The same is often said of working toward achieving our dreams.  Why would you ever want to head into the wind, the resistance?  But is this always the best strategy?  What do you think?

Well, if you’re flying it certainly is not.  When an aircraft lines up on a runway to take flight, to transport passengers, to take flight and achieve lift, the best strategy is to head into the wind.  Yes, head into the wind, not have the wind behind your back and certainly not at your side, also called a crosswind.  Aircraft take off into the wind and land into the wind.  The reason is based on the principle of how flight works and offers relevance in this discussion about how we may want to approach our life and challenges we face.

As planes begin to move down a runway gaining groundspeed achieved by the propeller or the turbines in the jet engines, the speed reaches a critical point called rotation speed.  At this speed, a phenomenon begins to take place where air pressure moving over the edge of the wing seperates into two pressure areas.  As this occurs, the pressure because of the shape and slope of the wing becomes higher under the wing and lighter on top of the wing.  When this occurs the natural tendency of the entire aircraft is to lift off the ground and take flight.  At this critical speed, a pilot causes slight pressure changes to occur further by holding the wheel (yoke) and pulling slightly back just enough to maintain a constant rate of incline and ascent.  This is the basics of flight 101.

So why is this relevant to our dreams for our lives and what we care about?  

Well, honestly it wouldn’t be unless you consider the key parts of this remarkable feat. To achieve flight we combine laws of gravity, air, design, momentum, and skill. These factors can also be parallel ideas of thought to virtually anything we want to work toward achieving lift and eventually having soar.  What dreams do you have for your life or for others that you may have felt you’re heading into the wind and there doesn’t seem to be any sign of let up from the blowing storm in your face?  Maybe the stormy winds can become your ally if you shift your focus and use a different design or achieve more momentum to get the lift you need to ROTATE the plane and get it off the ground.  Once you get the plane off the ground (your dream) you’d be surprised how it will take flight.

Let your dreams soar and take flight, let them head into the wind and take flight.

At Dreamweaver, we help the needy become the needed and though many face strong headwinds in their lives, we know a new view on the way to approach change can make all the difference.  When the Wright Brothers were working with the dynamics of flight they didn’t allow small set backs to deter their goal.  They experimented with design, weather, and skills to achieve their goal.  In the same way, we are going to have to take a wider view of poverty and the challenges of the world and look at things we may not have viewed as useful and also be open to entirely new ideas we never encountered before.  We have a mission and the challenges of the world are waiting for us to be the pilots that will achieve lift and flight to overcome everyone of them.