What Are Your Limitations?

Argue for your limitations and sure enough, they are yours.
- Richard Bach

The man with insight enough to admit his limitations comes nearest to perfection.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

From the first flight lesson pilots are taught the importance of limitations. For a pilot, there are limitations seemingly everywhere. There are aircraft limits, airport limits, clearance limits, and more. For the aircraft, they can be extensive and apply to nearly every system and area of operation. There are limits for weights, winds, fuel, temperatures, and altitude, just to name a few. Many limitations vary based on conditions and circumstances. For example, crosswind limits are often reduced if the runway is slippery. Some limitations are important enough that pilots are required to commit them to memory so they can be instantly recalled if necessary.

The consequences of exceeding a limitation can vary. Possibilities include aircraft damage, physical injury, checkride failure, disciplinary action, or just simply learning from the mistake with no negative consequences. For example, when I was a young and inexperienced pilot, (There may be a theme developing here.) I went on a long flight with my wife, across several states, in a small, unpressurized airplane. Beginning about halfway through the flight we would be flying over mountainous terrain.

She kept track of our position as we progressed using aviation charts (maps) and began asking about the various information on the chart, with special attention to anything terrain related. I taught her about the minimum terrain clearance altitudes on the chart, some of which were quite high. With that information, she was adamant that we fly at or above those altitudes, which would ensure we would clear all terrain over a wide area. I assured her we could navigate around the terrain and safely fly much lower, also reminding her that without pressurization or oxygen a lower altitude was better. (It was also a clear, sunny day and rocks do not move much, so there is that.)

However, instead of being assertive and continuing to operate the aircraft within limitations, as a pilot in command is supposed to do, I climbed to a higher altitude. Although, before doing so I reiterated the symptoms of hypoxia, a serious condition caused by too little oxygen, the onset of which is unique to each person. One of the early symptoms is tunnel vision so when she told me her vision was degrading, I immediately began a descent. Her vision quickly returned to normal and we proceeded to our destination at the lower altitude without further incident.

Limitations matter, and a man has got to know his limitations, (Dirty Harry) but knowing them is only the first step. Compliance is required, not optional. Consider that all decisions have consequences and bad decisions have victims. (Chuck Colson)

LIMITATIONS EXIST

This post would be a logical place to tell you that “you have no limitations”, or “you can be anything you want to be”, or “your only limits are the ones you put on yourself”, or “you can do anything”. I would love to believe those things myself, but they are all lies. Affirmation for those beliefs, and many more, can easily be found in an untold number of “self-help” books, on various websites, or heard from many celebrities and motivational speakers. Believing something is not enough to make it true.

Conflicting advice on limitations is everywhere and seems to go back centuries. Look back at the quotes at the beginning of this post. Do you see the conflict between them? The first implies your limitations are your own creation while the other does not challenge their existence but instead challenges you to develop the self-awareness necessary to identify your limitations. The question is not IF you have limitations. (We all do.) The question is: Are your limitations perceived or real?

In the extremes it is easy to tell the difference. For example, like many people, at no point in my life was I likely to ever be a professional athlete. I am confident asserting that with complete certainty as a real limitation. I also at one time thought, despite my desire, I would not be able to complete the annual bicycle ride across Iowa known as RAGBRAI. It turns out that was a perceived limitation because, even after aging a few decades, I have done it twice. (It sounds much harder than it is, but I had to do it to find out.)

In addition to limitations, everyone also has gifts and talents – something which they are uniquely skilled to do. It could be as mundane as caring for others, painting, writing, counseling, or repairing engines. Or it could be exciting like racing motorcycles, flying airplanes, singing, or dancing. You may know someone that has chosen a path that fits them well. Telling someone they may want to reconsider their choice and, maybe even more so, why, can be difficult, but a good friend says the hard things. If you tell a friend what they want to hear vs. the truth as you see it, you care about yourself more than them.

I have taught hundreds of pilots how to fly everything from small airplanes to jet airliners. Twice in my career I have told a student “I think you should consider a different career.” It was hard to tell them that, but I felt it was in their best interest. In my opinion, I thought they were not properly equipped to be a proficient pilot and no amount of training would get them to the level necessary for them to achieve success as a pilot. I did not know them well enough to be certain, but I felt they had chosen a path that did not line up with their gifts and talents. They had desire, but that is not always enough. (The TV show American Idol provides plenty of evidence of that. By the way, many of those contestants could have benefited from a friend being honest with them about their singing abilities.)

Having the right gifts and talents is also not always enough. For example, I have a friend who, at one time, could consistently bowl near 300 and was nationally ranked. She could have easily bowled professionally, but chose not to. Why didn’t she? Because she simply did not want to be a professional bowler. She had the gifts and talents, but no desire. If she had pursued it, she would have likely succeeded, but I doubt she would have been happy. (Happiness is a terrific symptom, but a terrible goal. – Mike Rowe)

I also have known many pilots that seemed to be naturally gifted. I have flown with them, taught them (not much, in some cases), and given them checkrides. In every case I was humbled by how effortless their flying seemed to be. It was obvious to me they were doing what they were born to do, and they thoroughly enjoyed it. I believed they had chosen a path that aligned with their gifts, talents, and desire. The result was they broke through many limitations that other pilots struggled with, including me.

I am a good pilot, but I would be the first to tell you that I am not naturally gifted. Some evidence of this is that I failed several checkrides early in my career. Any proficiency and career success I have achieved has come about only through study, practice, and determination. I believe a key reason why flying has not come easily to me is that I did not choose it because it aligned with my gifts, talents, and desire.

When I made the choice I did not consider choosing a path that aligned with those things because I had no concept of them. Honestly, I chose to be a pilot because several flight instructors worked part-time with me at the US Post Office and, after one flight, it seemed like a “cool thing to do”, not because I was called to be a pilot. (It certainly was not a very well-informed or self-aware decision.)

From an early age I wanted to design cars but, somehow, I convinced myself that was not attainable and searched for another path, ending up in aviation. I find it strange that I so easily dismissed designing cars but becoming an airline pilot, and at one time flying jets all over the world, was as easy as “Sure, why not?” Does one of those destinations seem less attainable than the other? It is crazy what we can convince ourselves of. (The most powerful lies we tell are the ones we tell ourselves. – ME)

If you craft a plan for your life that aligns with your gifts, talents, and desire, you will likely easily overcome any perceived limitations, and you will probably have a high level of satisfaction with your choice.

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