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Top Gun Thinking: How a Combat Pilot Makes Important Decisions

if you put these practices into application, you’ll be an ace decision maker

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You are in your office. It’s the end of the month. Deadlines are closing in. The pressure is mounting. The scrutiny of the entire company fixes its focus on you and your team to make the right decisions to get the company across the finish line and close out the month strong. 

You are no stranger to pressure.

Now imagine your office is narrowly avoiding incoming munitions and is moving one-hundred and fifty miles per hour, one to three feet off of the ground, and the difference between everything being fine and everything being a fiery catastrophic disaster of twisted metal and burning turbine fuel is a fraction of a second and one slightly miscalculated decision.

For retired Army Chief Warrant Officer III (CW3) Derek Zaleski, that pressure was just another day at the office.

After serving as a pilot in AH-64 Apache helicopters for the United States Army for nine of his nearly twenty years of service, Derek fulfills various project management roles for the government currently. 

The extraordinary trust that is placed in his ability to make sound and timely decisions under extreme pressure makes his leadership skillset a high-value and high-demand commodity in the corporate marketplace today. 

A decision-making faculty that was forged and polished over several years in the cockpit of a multi-role attack helicopter.

So, how does a pilot like Derek condition himself to make good decisions with precision execution when the pressure gets real?

Here’s what this veteran high-pressure decision-making professional credits his calculated decisiveness to (let’s all take notes):

Care, care, care

Taking care of yourself by eating right, exercising, hydrating and ensuring your body gets plenty of rest is a pivotal component to keeping you sharp and balanced. 

When your body receives the nutrients and minerals it needs to sustain itself it helps support a better functioning autonomic nervous system which can be the difference between high performance decision making and neurotransmission dysfunction at the worst possible times. Engage in good self-care.

“Truly successful decision-making relies on a balance between deliberate and instinctive thinking.” – Malcolm Gladwell

Education, education, education

The mind needs as much conditioning as the body does. Never stop learning and growing. Seek information related to your field of expertise as well as challenging yourself to learn new things every day. 

This keeps the electrochemical organ between your ears in tip-top shape and ready to tackle difficult decisions and high-pressure scenarios. Keep your mind sharp.

Train, train, train

Prior to operating an aircraft on the tarmac and in the air, pilots in-training will spend countless hours in simulators gaining a spatial awareness of the aircraft they specialize in and being presented with a myriad of stress-inducing scenarios from engine loss to instrumentation failure. 

This type of stimulus response training contributes to a level of readiness and preparedness that keep pilots calm, cool, and collected when the most important decisions need to be made under the most extreme circumstances. 

Train yourself and your people on worst-case scenarios and ensure there are plans in place to assist you and your team while making decisions in difficult or extreme circumstances so that extreme circumstances aren’t new when they’re experienced in real-time.

Analyze, analyze, analyze

For every one hour of flight a pilot can pretty much plan on two or more hours of debriefing afterward. This reflective period post-flight will be spent analyzing every second of flight from engine start-up to engine shutdown. 

The objective of this is to allow critique from the pilot and the team on factors that influenced the success or failure of each mission. Accepting and applying feedback from the data and the team empowers the pilot in the future to make even better and more educated decisions when the pressure is at its peak. 

During these periods of analysis, pilots are able to determine if improvements to processes are necessary and invite perspectives from a diverse team of fellow aviators who may be able to articulate deficiencies in the flight analysis that the pilot in the cockpit wasn’t able to see through their own lens. 

Hold frequent meetings with your team with the purpose and intent of improving synergy and decision-making performance.

Even if the nature of your work is not a matter of national security or life and death, if you put these practices into application, you’ll be an ace decision maker in no time; ready to stand up to the pressure and navigate your team towards success.

Brian Parsons is a leader, teacher, author, philanthropist, and CEO of Just Keep Playing Media, LLC with over twenty years of experience in diverse leadership roles. He is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, a former peace officer for the state of Colorado, a former non-profit manager, and the author of the Don’t Bee a Prick leadership book series.

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Change Your Mindset

4 Tips On How To Write Down Your Goals To Actually Reach Them

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4 Tips to Writing Down Your Goals Effectively

Everyone has goals. Whether small (“I’d like to lose 5 pounds before the summer”) or big (“I’d like to make a million dollars next year”). 

There’s a huge gap between having goals and accomplishing them. The act of writing down your goals plays an important part in closing this gap and reaching your goals.  According to a study done on Harvard MBA students, within ten years’ time, the students who had written down their goals were making ten times as much as their classmates who hadn’t written down their goals.

What to write out in your goals 

1. Clearly define your goals

This may be harder than you think. That’s because oftentimes, we get caught up in our daily routines and lose track of our true desires in life. Most people are guided by their circumstances. But there are a few people who shape their lives according to their goals. Who do you think is happier: the person who is defined by their circumstances or the person who creates their circumstances? Which category are you in now? Which category do you want to be in?

Chances are, you’re in the first group. But, the good news is that if you’re reading this article, you’re probably trying to make it to the second category. In order to do this, you have to take stock of your situation. That means taking some time to sit down and reflect. Find some quiet, alone time. Sit down and consider your current situation from all angles and write down your observations.

If you need some help doing this, consider answering the following questions:

  • Where are you now?
  • Where do you want to be?
  • What do you have to do to get there?

“It is not enough to take steps which may some day lead to a goal; each step must be itself a goal and a step likewise.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

2. Look at the big picture

Envision where you want to be next year, the year after or five years from now. Think about long-term goals. Don’t think about details or how you will accomplish them. Simply allow yourself to dream and to think about what it is you truly want. Whether it’s a personal or professional goal, just let your heart speak. Maybe you want to be married with children in five years’ time. Maybe you want to run a marathon. Or you want a job that you both love and that pays you well. Or you want to take time off to travel. Whatever it is, no matter how far from your current circumstances it may be, write it down.

 

3. Look at the small picture

Now, is when you start to fill in the gap between where you are now and your dreams. What is the first step? If you want to be married and have children, fill out a profile on an online dating site or let your friends know that you’re interested in meeting someone. If you want to run a marathon, get yourself a personal trainer at a gym or join a running club. Maybe visit a sports nutritionist to make sure you’re getting the nutrients you need in order to stay healthy and competitive.

If you want to land your dream job, think about your qualifications. Do you need to take some courses in order to be a candidate for the job you want? If you already qualify, start sending out your resume. If you want to travel, how could you convince your boss to let you take the time off? What about arrangements for a house-sitter or sub-letter? Who could take care of your pets? What other steps are there between you and your goal? Map them out, step by step.

 

4. Use positive Self Talk

When writing down your goals, try to put things in a positive way. Negative goal setting implies that you’re doing something wrong. It’s like scolding yourself for not doing better.

Below, I will provide 4 examples:

  • Don’t say: Stop dating losersInstead say: Find a successful, loving, supportive partner.
  • Don’t say: Stop being lazyInstead say: Improve my fitness to have the body I want and increase my health, energy and self-esteem.
  • Don’t say: Quit your dead-end jobInstead say: Find a job that matches my skills, passions and financial goals.
  • Don’t say: Stop putting off traveling. Instead say: Prepare the way for an incredible traveling adventure.

Putting a positive spin on the language you use can make you feel excited about tackling your goals. Such an attitude will help you overcome hurdles and make you determined to reach your future accomplishments.

“A goal is a dream with a deadline.” – Napoleon Hill

Whatever your goals are, studies show that the act of writing them down can have a significant impact on their outcome. Defining exactly what it is that you want, setting up the steps to get there, and saying it all in a positive way are powerful steps to realizing your dreams. So, grab a pen and get started.

Ready To Write Down Your Goals & Reach Them? Read more blogs about reaching your goals and success on Addicted 2 Success

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Change Your Mindset

Need Help Reaching Your Goals? This 6 Step Process Is For You

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how to reach your goals
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Nobody wants to fail and everyone wants to succeed. Every day, people are struggling to reach their goals and achieve success. A failure is a painful event and one that almost all of us work tirelessly to avoid. However, no matter who you are, failure is unavoidable. Not only that, but as much as you hate to fail, failure is still necessary for your success. There can be no success without failure. (more…)

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Life

Don’t Forget the Hard Times Embrace Them to Grow

A dream may never become a reality if you fail to learn from what made it impossible in your past

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A dream may never become a reality if you fail to learn from what made it impossible in your past. Each trial I have faced strengthened me, increased my confidence, and instilled in me the discipline to seek accountability for my life.  (more…)

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Change Your Mindset

5 Ways To Achieve Your Goals (With Examples)

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Accomplishing mountians

Setting goals is a crucial first step, whether you’re striving to reach personal or professional milestones. However, achieving those goals requires planning, determination, and focus. In this post, we’ll discuss five actionable strategies that can help you achieve your goals in 2023, and we’ll provide real-life examples to inspire and motivate you. By implementing these tips, you can train your brain to achieve your goals and make meaningful progress toward your aspirations.

1. Write Down Your Goals

The first thing needed to achieve a goal is to have one. A goal becomes very clear and precise once you have written it down most simply and easily to remember.

Here are some examples:

  • I am the world’s best dancer!
  • I am the greatest athlete!
  • I have created the world’s most innovative tech company!

They are all written with the belief that these things have already happened. Once you start believing it has already happened, other people too can sense your confidence and things start happening.

“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.” — Andrew Carnegie

2. The One Page Plan

A simple one-page plan to accompany your goal is much more powerful than a detailed 30-page plan. After you have written your clear goal – write down all the things you will have to do to achieve it. Make it as simple and direct as possible so that you can refer to it every day and take action. A simple plan is easier to follow and keep up with.

3. Get The Right Skills

Once you have a clear goal that has been inked into your mind, and a clear plan in place, it is very important to invest in the skills you need to achieve your goal.

So for example, if you want to become a movie star, you should immediately start developing your acting skills. Observe how other actors perform, join an acting class, read about acting, and most importantly, start honing your craft by joining a local theatre group and going for as many auditions as you can. Practice is very important for mastering any skill.

Struggling To Achieve Your Goals? Here Are 9 Possible Reasons Why! 

4. Surround Yourself With The Best People

The best way to achieve our goals is to make sure we have the best people supporting us. People who succeed are always those who understand the power of people.

So let’s say your goal is to be an entrepreneur and you have developed your entrepreneurial skills, the next step would be to get the best people to join your team to help you achieve your goal. These would be people who you consider to be the best marketers capable of getting you the best customers and investors.

Once you have the best people supporting you, it becomes much easier and faster to achieve your goals.

“It takes tremendous discipline to control the influence, the power you have over other people’s lives.” – Clint Eastwood

5. Power of Faith

Nothing beats the power of faith and belief. Sometimes you might face challenges, sometimes things might not be going your way, and you might feel like giving up – these are the times when faith and belief will keep you going.

So many people give up, just a few inches away from victory. I am sure you are not one of them since you are investing time into self-development which gives the highest returns! Now go out there and start achieving your goals!

Need more motivation? Read our blogs on motivation and become your best self now!

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