How to Improve Your Preparation by Thinking Like a Pilot

"We all want better judgment. We want to prepare well to perform well. We want our plans to run smoothly and to avoid unnecessary stress. However, we don't always take steps that will objectively help us self-improve in these areas. Why? It might not seem urgent enough. Or, we might worry it'll turn into a minefield of perfectionism, exhaustion, and self-criticism."

"Concrete tools can help overcome these barriers and do so efficiently. One place we can find these tools is in aviation. Pilots learn many procedures to improve their judgment, planning, and how they manage changing conditions. The concepts behind these are surprisingly applicable to everyday life. In this post, we'll look at four procedures used by pilots that map directly to everyday scenarios. For each example, I'll present the pilot version and the translation to ordinary life."

"Pilot examples: Your personal limits are stricter than legal or equipment limits. If your plane can handle a 17-knot crosswind, but you've only ever landed in 10, your personal maximum will probably be lower than the plane's. As a private pilot, you can legally fly many types of aircraft, but before flying an unfamiliar plane alone, you always fly in it with an instructor first."

Concrete tools from aviation can overcome barriers to self-improvement by improving judgment, planning, and stress management. Pilots learn procedures to manage changing conditions, and those procedures map directly to everyday situations. One procedure is setting personal minimums and maximums that are stricter than legal or equipment limits, such as limiting crosswind landings or flying an unfamiliar aircraft with an instructor first. Daily personal policies can mirror that logic, like limiting driving duration, avoiding rarely practiced medical treatments, or choosing larger recipes. Personal minimums are adaptable and expand with experience, similar to how novice drivers broaden limits as skills grow.

Read at Psychology Today