Occasionally, a reader will complain that our Sim Challenges are too difficult. Really? That’s the point. Some pilots, a group that I reluctantly admit occasionally includes me, prefer to keep their exercises within their capabilities. Going well outside those capabilities is intimidating and, presumably, we don’t want to reveal our limitations, especially if we’re working with an instructor or another pilot with whom we want to save face. So, we keep our training within our comfort zone so we do well.
Somebody once said, “You can’t expand your comfort zone from inside it.” (Actually, I said that in my May 2021 Remarks.) Imagine a seasoned runner who’s competitive in the 10K, but has ambitions of being a competitive marathon runner. But that runner always stops at 10K because he knows he’s good at that distance and doesn’t want to face the possibility of appearing weak at longer distances. That runner will never reach the over 40K required of a marathon.
