Written by: Cheryl Dutta, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
For a Helicopter Pilot, to be able to do High Altitude flying and be cleared to land at helipads at a height above 15000 feet is a dream come true. It was a clearance every helicopter pilot worth his salt wanted to log. As a young Flying Officer, as I made my very first approach for my very first landing at 19000 feet, I can still clearly remember the sound of my shallow breathing trying to take in the oxygen at that height and the pin drop silence around me. The only sound around me the helicopter engine sputtering in thin air. All around us were snow-covered mountains and it felt like being inside a giant golf ball. Ahead of me all I could see was the small marking of an H indicating the helipad. It was the only point of reference for me. I will never forget the sheer exhilaration of that moment.
My Instructor’s words from then are ingrained in my mind, and I can still recall every word even after almost 25 years. He said, at this altitude and max performance level it is all about the Perspective you have. If you’re too high or too low in your approach to the helipad you will never make a successful touchdown and will never have the skill to operate at this level. So always be sure you have the correct Perspective before you begin your approach to land. That’s the secret to a successful touchdown and crucial to being a skilled high-altitude pilot. Ask any Aviator and they will say that this holds true for any aircraft and any good landing anywhere in the world. This important insight I learnt from my Instructor very early in my career I carried forward through my life and into my Coaching Process as well.
Flying has always been my first love and joining the Military as a Helicopter Pilot was a decision, I made without thinking twice; I was grateful for the opportunity and experience of learning to be a military helicopter pilot and a pioneer in my field as my Country’s first Woman Helicopter Pilot.
Being a helicopter pilot was a freedom and a high I have never experienced anywhere else in life. The feeling of being one with the sky, the space, the machine, and yourself, is difficult to describe. I never for one moment felt this is not where I2 should be or doubted my machine or my abilities. Even now I close my eyes and I can still feel the rush you get when you make the perfect touchdown, flying over treetops in a low-level navigation, flying through the beautiful valleys of the massive Himalayan Mountain Ranges over snow covered mountains where the air is so thin, landing at that height is as much a test of yours and the machines capabilities. Being a military aviator also taught me a few valuable lessons that have formed the bedrock to my own experiences in life which I feel has shaped my journey as a Life Transition Coach. Through many career decisions, personal relationships and setbacks, I have tried to look at things from a different perspective and often taken a step back to analyze and see things in a new light, it made me definitely see the big picture.
As a Coach who now works with clients to understand change and transition in a seamless and organic way, I find that the starting point for every decision, behavior, action, and reaction is our “Perspective”. In its most simple form, it’s the way we see the world, the lens through which we make our judgments, biases, form our beliefs, make our decisions. The attitude we adopt to react to a person, or a situation is greatly influenced by our perspective. There is no right or wrong perspective, its just important to know whether it works for us or not. As a coach it is important to help my client understand if the perspective they have is serving their higher purpose. Is it aligning with their goals?
Changing the perspective or reframing the situation can profoundly impact the outcome of a coaching process. A Coach much like my Instructor, is in a unique position to help a client understand this and envision their goals differently or help in change management by guiding a client to have a clearer vision and a different thought process. Sometimes this process helps a client literally “get out of his own way”. For deep transformational coaching sometimes all it takes is a gentle shift in perspective.
Cheryl Dutta, Executive Contributor Braiinz Magazine
Cheryl Dutta is an experienced Life and Transition Coach, with a demonstrated history of working with individuals from diverse fields. She served in the Military for ten years as a Helicopter Pilot, is a successful Entrepreneur and has a Bachelor of Arts focused on Psychology and Economics.
Her aim is to help individuals succeed in living their best life in a seamless, organic, positive, and holistic way. She believes that it is important to align your values and beliefs with the kind of career and lifestyle you want to have. She offers realistic and actionable strategies to help you take the steps towards achieving your life purpose and being your authentic self.
She has always been an advocate for gender parity and has created her signature Coaching Program to help Women to live their best life, at work and at home, align their goals and create a vision for a more empowered future.
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