Refueling Yourself
Rest, repair, and replenishment are not just for our aircraft
Hello Everyone,
It’s been a while since I last wrote. This was not my intention, and this issue itself is a smaller one. I wanted to reach out to let you all know I am still here and will be back more often from here on out.
I thought this is a perfect opportunity to discuss something aviation related, but not in the typical sense. I had to step back from my regular writing due to, well, life. We have all experienced it before, family, work, illnesses, and other obligations, all add up, and it can become overwhelming. It’s okay because that is part of the journey.
What I found interesting during this particular flood of life, was the phrase “Grind” and its associated “Hustle Culture” are thrown around a lot lately, and I find it disturbing.
We are all at different points in our life, but we are all pursuing different goals. The popular advice lately is that in order to reach those goals you need to be “grinding” daily and always hustling, hustling, hustling. I have seen this in students and others in my life who believe this is the key to success. Unfortunately, it is the key to burnout and failure. Simply the word grind projects images of abrasion and pain.
Instead of promoting endless pressure, and intense progress at all times, we need to normalize that slowing down, and even taking a break is not just ok, but healthy. I see new aviators who are killing themselves to get all the requirements to apply to the big players. They are flying every chance they get while working part-time (or full-time) in order to pay for their dream. I see others who get depressed or discouraged if they did not meet a certain milestone by a specific date. This is not a good trend.
While flying our aircraft we stop for regular refueling we don’t question this, mainly because the alternative is not desirable, but we plan for it. Our aircraft are scheduled for and receive regular maintenance, we plan for it. When it comes to maintenance, we know if we keep putting off fixing certain items, the time, cost, and repercussions of fixing them increase directly with the length of the delay. So why do we treat ourselves differently?
When working toward your goals, consistency, not distance, is key. Look at the big picture, if, over the year, you had to slow down, or even stop for a while, but overall you made progress, then you are still successful. Somedays you may walk a mile, while others only a couple of steps, it’s still progress. Other times you will need to take a rest, and that is healthy and good. Occasionally, you need to rest your feet while running. Occasionally you need to refuel yourself, both physically and mentally. Occasionally, stopping to smell the roses does more for you than hustling all day long.
Finally, no matter where you are in your journey, compare yourself to who and where you were yesterday, not who someone else is, or where they are on their journey. Also, don’t forget to support your fellow aviators, and humans, on their journeys. Supporting each other will get us further than we ever could on our own.
Fly Safe Everyone.
P.S.
I have not had the chance to formally announce it yet, but with the Black Friday sale, I wanted to let everyone know our online store is up and running. If you are looking for aviation items for yourself or gift ideas for the aviator in your life, we have a wide selection of aviation items. Click our logo or the caption below for more details. A portion of all proceeds goes to aviation-related charities.
