Last month I was on a flight to Seattle. I boarded early and made my way to seat 7F to settle in for the nearly four hour flight. Everyone was on board and in their seats when a flight attendant approached me and said, "Excuse me Mr. Stevens, the pilots would like to speak with you."

That was a first. I entered the cockpit and the two men asked me about my trip, how long I'd been flying, and even about my family.

"Do you know why we've called you up here?" the pilot asked.

I had an idea. I've been on planes off and on since I was a kid, but my travels really picked up in 2014. That's when I began working with churches all around the country and would be on 120 to 150 flights each year. That screeched to a halt in 2020 when the world shut down and my job changed, but picked up last summer when I transitioned into running LeadingSmart and again working with leaders, teams and churches. I knew I was approaching one million miles with United Airlines.

The pilots were very kind and gave me my "Million Miler" medallion (I didn't know there was such a thing). They made an announcement to the plane and people around me said either "Congratulations" or "Oh wow, so sorry!"

You shouldn't feel sorry for me. I think I have the best job in the world, and I truly feel privileged to be able to travel in the work I get to do.

So from a Million Miler who has been on 955 flights over the past ten years (including five this week!), here are six suggestions for your next trip...

Get a window seat. Look at the amazing sunsets and sunrises and cloud formations. Reflect on the fact you are flying through the air at 500+ mph while sipping a Coke, watching a movie, and texting a friend down on earth. Think about how many thousands of years that humans never had the amazing luxury of flight. What a time to be alive!

Don’t judge. The people in First Class, for the most part, aren't pompous entitled jerks. The vast majority are road-weary men and women whose travel frequency has earned them the right to an upgrade that makes life away from their families a little bit more tolerable.

Take a breath. Getting upset about travel delays, broken airplanes or bad weather doesn’t change anything. Seriously, you can’t speed up the process. At all. Ever. The flight attendants and gate agents also want to go home. Don’t be mean.

Extend grace. Realize people are people wherever you go. Some are happy and content and well-adjusted. Some are hurting and take their pain out on others.

Love well. Look for opportunities to love on people. Especially if you are a person of faith--our love for others is the only thing Jesus said would set us apart. Respond graciously when you have every reason to be annoyed. Be patient when you deserve to be upset.

Redeem the time. Your phone isn't going to ring. You aren't going to be interrupted by a co-worker. Figure out what you need and plan ahead. Bring a book, watch a movie, work on that project that requires focus, play a game or take a nap.

Remember that people in the travel industry aren’t trying to make your life miserable. They really want to provide you a great experience. There is a lot involved in putting a couple hundred people in an aluminum can and flying them seven miles in the air over land and sea. 

Each thing I've mentioned is about attitude. It is about considering others, rising above yourself and seeing through someone else's eyes. It's about making intentional choices to believe the best in others.

It goes without saying -- except now I'm going to say it -- that it's not just about your attitude when flying. We can make the same choice to believe the best, extend grace, and love well when sitting in traffic, encountering a difficult person, parenting a screaming toddler, and living in a place where winter lasts five or six months

Yeah, I'm still a work in progress on that last one.