Learning What’s Important As Your Plane Crashes

Too often we realize what’s important after it’s too late. But what if you could jump into the future, figure out what’s important, and then come back to the present day? That’s how Ric Elias, passenger on the US Airways plane that crashed into the Hudson River, described the experience.

In the TED video below, Ric shares the three things he learned that day.

It All Changes in an Instant

Ric said that he had a bucket list of things he wanted to do, people he wanted to reach out to, fences to mend, experiences to have.  Yet when you know you’re about to die, you realize you have no time to do any of these things anymore.  His philosophy now is “I no longer want to postpone anything in life. That urgency, that purpose has really changed my life.”  In other words, live for today.

Ego

Ric said that he allowed his ego to get the better of himself.  He regrets the time was wasted on things that don’t matter with the people who do matter. He thought about the relationships in his life and then decided to eliminate negative energy from his life.  Most importantly, he says “I no longer try to be right; I choose to be happy.” This is exactly the premise of the Happiness Plunge!

Dying is not Scary

“It’s almost like we’ve been preparing for it our whole lives,” said Ric.  He realized he only had one wish as he was certain he was moments from taking his last breath: to see his kids grow up. In that moment, he realized that the only thing that mattered in his life was being a great dad.  In other words, he defined his purpose.

You’ll have to watch the video to see how he closes, but he is very grateful and leaves us with a very inspiring message.