Every year, you step into a simulator and prove you still belong in the cockpit. You show that you can handle failures, make smart decisions under pressure, and fly safely when things go wrong. That process keeps you sharp and trusted to carry lives through the sky.
Yet somehow, that same discipline rarely gets applied to the rest of your life. Career, finances, relationships, and personal goals all run on autopilot, with no formal review and no structured correction if things go sideways.
That’s why you need an annual proficiency check for your life. It is a way to step back and assess what is really happening.
Key Takeaways
- Your Beliefs Should Evolve: Real growth comes from updating what you think you know. Changing your mind means you are learning, not failing.
- Energy Shows the Right Direction: What gives you energy is a clue to where you should spend more time. It’s simply a sign of what needs to change.
- Fear Hides Opportunity: Most hesitation comes from inexperience. Looking directly at what you avoided reveals where your next breakthrough likely sits.
- Reflection Creates Progress: Reviewing wins, mistakes, and lessons turns every year into useful data. Without reflection, you repeat the same patterns.
Seven Questions That Change Everything
Just like your annual simulator check, you can use these seven questions as an annual proficiency check for your life. Each question surfaces blind spots, patterns, and assumptions that are easy to miss when you’re deep in “operational mode.”
1. What Did I Change My Mind On This Year?
First, ask yourself, what beliefs, assumptions, or “truths” did I discover were no longer true? What did you once think was obvious that now looks different?
This question enables you to treat being wrong as a software update rather than a failure. It also helps to learn things faster than you judge yourself.
This is how real evolution happens. Remember, true growth doesn’t come from holding firm to every belief you ever had. You need to update your map every now and then as new information comes to light.
Even the most effective people don’t insist they were always right; they just ask better questions and revise their thinking.
2. What Created Energy This Year?
Your outcomes and well-being follow your energy. Some activities make you feel alive, engaged, and energized. Others drain you slowly until you wonder why you ever signed up for them in the first place.
Review your year with fresh eyes. Identify moments, people, and environments that consistently filled your tank rather than emptying it.
According to research by the American Psychological Association, people who regularly engage in energizing activities report significantly higher life satisfaction and lower stress levels.
This question teaches us to protect what works, prioritize what fuels you, and notice what disappears from your calendar.
3. What Drained Energy This Year?
Now, examine the opposite side of what gave you energy. Recall the things that consistently left you drained, worn out, and resentful.
Certain trips, obligations, patterns, or relationships extract more than they return. Sometimes those are obvious. But other times, you might feel “normal” because you have adjusted to the stress over months or even years.
It’s the same as an aircraft. Jets don’t burn fuel evenly, as some legs take more than others, and your life is the same way.
Being honest here lets you make course corrections instead of repeating the same inefficient patterns year after year.
4. What Were the Headwinds in My Life?
In aviation, headwinds slow you down. As for life, the headwinds come from things like unhelpful mindsets (such as “I’m just a pilot”), draining social dynamics, or habits that don’t align with where you want to go.
To answer this question, look for sources of drag. It includes negative crew-room conversations, self-limiting beliefs about your potential, and routines formed during long layovers that don’t serve you outside the cockpit.
Once you identify them, you can decide whether they deserve the loud voice you’ve been giving them.
5. What Did I Not Do Because of Fear?
This is something most of us experience. Due to fear, we keep delaying things, thinking about what might go wrong, and we forget what could go right. This fear comes from inexperience and uncertainty.
That means you’re afraid of something not because you lack ability, but because you haven’t done it yet.
There are actually a few sub-questions you can ask in this:
- What did I avoid this year because it felt risky or uncomfortable?
- What was the worst possible outcome?
- What would have been the potential upside?
When you, with all honesty, engage with fear, it separates real danger from the limits you’ve set for yourself. As Nelson Mandela once said:
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.”
6. What Were My Greatest Hits and Worst Misses?
Human beings, including pilots, struggle with balanced reflection. Of all the people, optimists remember wins and forget lessons. Meanwhile, pessimists only remember losses and forget that they’ve made any progress.
For this one, you need to force yourself into a balanced assessment. Write down what worked well and why, and what didn’t go well and what you could have done differently.
By knowing the mechanics behind the success and failure, you can replace one and avoid the other.
7. What Did I Learn This Year?
When you’re focused on day-to-day operations, you lose sight of growth. Yet reflection shows how far you’ve actually come.
Some questions you can explore in this regard include:
- What do you understand now that you didn’t a year ago?
- Which capabilities, skills, or insights did you develop?
- How has your perspective shifted?
The Real Proficiency Check
Pilots who create more freedom, control, and meaning are not luckier than everyone else. They are simply intentional and take time to review their lives the same way they review their flying.
Before you rush into planning another year, pause and look back. The patterns are there, and now you can name and address what’s holding you back.
So, if you are ready to do that, turn to our Aviator Entrepreneur Readiness Checklist. It gives you a simple way to spot your headwinds and identify what has been holding you back.
You would never skip a proficiency check in the sim. Make sure not to skip the one that matters for your life.
Invitation to Join Our FREE Strategy Session
Most pilots are one honest conversation away from clarity. This is that conversation.
Complete our “Life After the Sky” checklist, then join me for a FREE 15-minute “Strategy Session” via Zoom.
This session is for pilots who want to take ownership of what comes next.
Those who want action, not just to talk about it.
In just 15 minutes, we’ll:
- Review your checklist results
- Identify the one obstacle holding back your reinvention
- Translate your checklist results into a clear starting point
Start your pre-flight assessment for the next chapter of your journey by Booking your free strategy session here!
