The first jetliner, the de Havilland Comet, was originally built with square windows. A simple aesthetic choice.
Then, in 1954, two Comets disintegrated midair within a couple of months of each other. They crashed because of the square windows. A subtle yet critical engineering design flaw, the square windows caused unusual and unaccounted-for stress on the airframe.
Initially, though, nobody thought about the square windows as the cause of the metal fatigue. Because, well, let’s face it — the window shape? That’s crazy. The fuselage disintegrated. What’s the difference between a square window and a window with rounded corners? How could that simple aesthetic choice be the root cause of a mechanical failure?
It’s such a little and seemingly unrelated thing.
Sometimes, however, that little thing that might not seem like a big deal, or you don’t want to believe is a big deal, ends up being the cause — the cause of your failure, your feeling bad, your mediocrity, your lack of progress, or your inability to get where you want to go.
What are the square windows in your life?
It’s time to get rid of them.
