Familiarize Yourself With the 1–60 Rule to Change the Course of Your Life
Updated: Apr 12
Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash
The 1–60 rule is a rule of thumb used by aviation pilots that says that for every degree you go off your route, you have to course-correct by one nautical mile every 60 nautical miles you actually traveled. So, for instance, if you had to go from New York to LA and you went off your route by 3 degrees, you would very likely end up around Fresno, CA., not your desired destination. Of course, you can course-correct if you have alarm signals helping you understand you’re traveling the wrong route or spot the mistake using your knowledge, such as visual landmarks.
The same is with your life.
We all were born equal, souls full of hope and with great projects in our heads. Then it happened that instead of following our route, we listened to our parents, siblings, teachers, and friends that inserted into our navigation systems pieces of their travel plans. Very often, that happens through warning signals in the form of limiting beliefs. Consequently, we grew up following somebody else’s routes, usually conforming to habits that didn’t help us get back to our desired route.
“Yeah, I’m still young. I can do that later maybe!”
Days, months, and years pass by, and we still surf the waves of life pretty off our designated route. Then, something happens.
We lose somebody dear to us, or our bodies start signaling there’s something wrong with us. Our careers are not what we imagined back in college.
Something is not quite right. We feel uncomfortable and whatever the reason, that feeling of sadness is just telling yourself you have been traveling off course for too long.
All of us have a destination that is unique for each of us. It’s waiting for us to be discovered.
Many of us react to that feeling of uneasiness. Some of us, though, decide to ignore it until it’s too late.
Course correcting our lives is tough, but it’s possible.
Don’t be part of those that end up regretting. If you keep in mind the 1–60 rule and apply it to your life, you will find yourself back to your desired root earlier than you hoped for.
