Posted by Sari Krieger under TravelResponses (2)

This news about terrorist plots to blow up airplanes and the subsequent crackdown on bringing suntan lotion and cell phones on board is just what I didn’t want to hear today. I am a fearful flyer and this fear has held me back from going a lot of places. I’ll bet there are some would be meeting attendees out there who have the same problem.

But I have some inspiration for all of you – I’m going to take my first flight in over seven years next week. I’m flying from New York to South Carolina. It will be nice to see Myrtle Beach since I’ve written about it a few times and have heard it's a great destination.

Fortunately I’m flying with some very supportive people and have even taken part of a very helpful guaranteed course I found at www.fearofflying.com. But mostly I’m just sick of limiting myself.

And just as I’m getting my courage up to go, I see this news today. My first reaction was to be scared and shaken in my resolve to face my fear of flying. But then I remembered that I ride the New York City subways and traverse the streets every day without a second thought, even though those are supposed terrorist targets too, as well as being more dangerous in general. The safety statistics are much better in the air than anywhere else I normally spend my time.

So take heart wary meeting travelers. If I can face my fear of flying, you can too. When I stepped off my last flight in April 1999 into a rainy Queens afternoon, I vowed to never fly again. But here I am, ready to go now.

If you’ve ever felt that scared about flying too, think about this: there is no guarantee for tomorrow, but flying in an airplane is statistically safer than even sleeping in your own bed. Don’t let anyone pressure you into flying, but listen to that voice inside you that’s saying ‘I’ve had enough of this fear and now I want to live.’