I Missed My Flight by 10 Minutes. Here’s What I Took From It.

I was still at Gladstone Airport when I started wondering whether I should just go home.

My flight to Brisbane was running two hours late because of the weather, and I had a connection to Melbourne. I was heading down for MindBodySpirit Festival, so of course I wanted to get there. Part of me was doing the maths, trying to work out whether I could still make it. Another part of me was already thinking about my own bed.

I kept going. I missed the connection by ten minutes. And yes, the connecting flight had been delayed too. 😅

With no accommodation available and an 8:55 am flight to Melbourne, my first thought was, I should’ve trusted my intuition and gone home.

Then I thought about what else had happened that day.

The part of the delay I’m glad I was there for

While I was waiting in Gladstone, I got a surprise visit from Brett and Miriyana, two lovely souls I’d met at Brisbane MBS. They were in town visiting Brett’s parents, who live near me. Brett had emailed to see if we could catch up the next day, and I told him I was off to Melbourne, but they were welcome to meet me at the airport.

So they did. 🤣

We’d connected over their interest in publishing decks and books and being part of OracleME® Magazine. Of all the places to catch up again, there we were at Gladstone Airport.

I was genuinely happy to see them. I was also genuinely cranky about missing my flight. Both feelings made perfect sense.

What did I actually know at the time?

It’s easy to look back once you know how things turned out and say, See? I knew it.

What I actually knew at Gladstone was that the flight was late, the connection was looking tight and I was tired. I had a feeling I might be better off going home. I also had a reason to keep going. I wanted to get to Melbourne.

What I wish I’d done was give that thought about going home a proper minute. What would staying in Gladstone mean for getting to Melbourne the next day? What would going on to Brisbane mean if I missed the connection? Even asking what my options were might have helped me make a decision I felt more settled about.

I wrote recently about how hard it can be to tell intuition from fear. This was a good reminder that sometimes the most useful thing you can do with a gut feeling is let it prompt a practical question. Read Is It Intuition or Fear?

I can be glad I got to see Brett and Miriyana and still wish I’d listened a little more closely to the part of me that wanted to go home. Next time I catch myself doing airport maths for the fifth time, I think I’ll take that as my cue to ask someone what my options are. Then I can decide whether I’d rather keep going or sleep in my own bed. 💜

~ Sarah Jayd