Pilots use checklists.
Checklists are sequences of steps to resolve a problem. Some are very lengthy and some are just a few words.
While working on my instrument rating, the first thing a new instructor said to me was: “Tell me your emergency checklist.” I had no idea what he was fishing for. He suggested: “A, B, C, D, E”. His emergency checklist had 5 steps – remembered with the mnemonic of A through E. Airspeed, Best field, Checklist, Declare an emergency, Execute an off field landing. These steps applied well to a total engine failure – and you didn’t have to look it up in the pilot handbook.
Life beyond flying has emergencies too. Of course there are no checklists for a broken leg, a lost dog, or broken heart. The first step is often to just keep going. I believe it was Winston Churchill who said: “When going through hell, keep going.” And it was legendary aviator Bob Hoover who said: “When faced with a forced landing, fly the thing as far into the crash as possible.”
These pithy sayings all pretty much mean the same thing. Don’t give up. Be a survivor. Do your work.
Anyone facing adversity may receive this sort of advice as tone deaf. That’s believable – heartbreak is not something with a paint by numbers repair.
Without a strategy its easy to feel futility. Checklists provide a pilot with a strategy to prevent them from giving up. In relationships with others, there’s a risk that this approach appears cold, maybe even heartless. Its something I’ve had to learn to be on guard about.
In life, maybe the simplest steps are: Keep your wits, seek safety and avoid danger, talk to others. This equates to the most universal pilot checklist: Aviate, Navigate, Communicate.