Don’t spend major time on minor things.
Jim rohn
One of the mantras that has kept me focused this week is, “keep the main thing, the main thing”. When I shared it with colleagues in the staffroom, during our lunch break, my mantra was met with a, ‘huh?’, along with an expression like that of a cow staring at a new gate. Hopefully I can do better this time around.
Aviate. Navigate. Communicate.
As a student pilot, there is so much for me to learn and it is easy to become task saturated in the cockpit – having much to do and not much time to do it in. Of course, I have my flight instructor with me, but only for now. At some point, it will be all down to me. As such, it is important for me to be able to separate what needs to be done immediately from what can wait – I must prioritise. If I don’t, I could easily end up a statistic.
Everyday, we are thrown into numerous situations requiring us to navigate an insane amount of choices and arbitrate between competing priorities. We encounter people who have their own agendas and if we are not careful, their agenda inadvertently becomes our agenda, and before we know it, we are further away from our goals and desires.
As a student pilot I have to learn to fly the aeroplane, to navigate and to communicate with the appropriate Air Traffic Service Unit. Inevitably, there are times when these 3 priorities clash. I might find myself in a position where I am lost, not in complete control of the aircraft whilst also being required to respond to a call.
There are 3 really important things to do in this situation: fly the plane, fly the plane and fly the plane! It cannot be overstated. If I lose control of the plane and find myself plummeting to the ground, navigating and communicating become somewhat irrelevant to my outcome.
Identify Your Goal In Any Given Situation
“If you aim at nothing, you will hit every time.”
Zig Ziglar
One of the great things about the mantra I have been using is that it prompts me to identify what my true priority is in that moment. This was particularly useful when I was frustrated due to feeling like things were not going the way I wanted them to go. As such, I realised I didn’t have to win every single battle and have everything go my way. I only needed one specific thing out of my day, out of my interaction or whatever situation I was in.
Consider what you are doing now. What is your goal? What is the main thing? You may have to wrestle with your goals and desires a while before the true priority reveals itself. Your priority, your main thing, will differ with each situation. It might be to listen, to think, to plan, to simply get started, to create a terrible first draft, to be playful, to be yourself, to save money, to collect data, to support, to rest, to learn something new or to progress, and so on.
Distractions are everywhere, available free of charge. Some distractions are clear, while others come in a disguise. Like cunning thieves, distractions can steal your resources – time, money, energy – and leave you further from your goal. To give yourself the best chance of reaching your goal and living your dream, make sure you keep the main thing, the main thing.
The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
Stephen Covey
👉🏾Go Fund Me Campaign 👈🏾
👉🏾YouTube👈🏾
👉🏾Instagram 👈🏾
Future Pilot Niner One 