Wingman Wednesday — New Year, New Habits: The Pilot’s Pre-Flight for Life ✈️

Most people start the year with a vibe.

Pilots start with a checklist.

Because pilots don’t bet their mission on motivation. They build habits that work when they’re tired, busy, distracted, or dealing with curveballs — which is… basically every Tuesday.

So this Wingman Wednesday, we’re kicking off the year the Sky Commander way: small habits, big lift.
Not “new year, new you.”
More like: new year, new systems.

See Above. Go Beyond. Get Ahead.

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The Problem With Resolutions (And Why Pilots Don’t Use Them)

Resolutions are usually vague:

• “Get in shape”
• “Be more productive”
• “Learn more”
• “Stop procrastinating”

Here’s the issue: vague goals don’t create action.
They create guilt.

Pilots don’t operate on guilt. They operate on clear steps and repeatable routines.

So instead of a resolution, you need a Minimum Safe Operating Standard (MSOS) — your baseline habits that keep you stable no matter what the day throws at you.

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The Sky Commander Habit Stack (Built Like a Flight Plan)

These aren’t fluffy “feel good” habits. These are mission-grade habits: simple, practical, and designed to compound.

1) The 2-Minute Pre-Flight (Stop Starting Your Day Blind)

Before work. Before you open email. Before you scroll. Run this:

✅ Clear one surface
Desk, counter, truck console, your flight case — just one.

✅ Write your “Top 3 Outcomes”
Not tasks. Outcomes. Things that move the needle.

✅ Identify the biggest risk today + one control
Example:

• Risk: “I’ll get pulled into everyone else’s emergencies.”
• Control: “Two focus blocks. Phone on DND. Messages at 10:30 and 2:30.”

This takes two minutes and it does one huge thing:
It makes you the pilot, not the passenger.

See Above. Go Beyond. Get Ahead.

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2) The Battery Rule (Protect Your Energy Like Flight Time)

A pilot doesn’t say, “Let’s fly until we run out.”
They plan margins.

So pick one battery habit and defend it like safety equipment:

• Water before coffee
• 10-minute walk daily
• Protein first
• Screens off 30 minutes before sleep
• Sunlight in your eyes within 30 minutes of waking

Pick one. Track it for 7 days.
If you’re trying to do five habits at once, you’re not building discipline — you’re building a future excuse.

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3) The Mid-Mission Check (The Habit That Prevents Most Crashes)

Most people don’t implode. They drift.

That’s why professionals do “mid-mission checks.”

Set a daily alarm: 12:30 PM (or your midpoint).
Ask these three questions:

1. What’s the mission right now?
2. What changed?
3. What’s the next best move?

This takes 30 seconds and saves entire afternoons.

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4) The One-Line Debrief (How You Actually Get Better)

At the end of the day, write one sentence:

“Tomorrow goes better if I ______.”

Not a journal. Not an essay. One line.

This trains your brain to improve without spiraling into self-judgment.
And it’s how you build mastery faster than everyone who just “tries harder.”

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The “Bad Day” Protocol (Because You’ll Have Bad Days)

Here’s where most habit plans die: the first chaotic day.

So we build a protocol for that.

When life gets messy, your only goal is to complete one of these:

• 2-minute pre-flight
• water before coffee
• one-line debrief

That’s your minimum standard.
If you keep the baseline, you don’t restart from zero.

You just… keep flying.

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The Wingman Challenge: 7 Days to Momentum 🎯

Don’t overhaul your life. Prove to yourself you can be consistent.

Pick one track:

Track A — Command the Day (Pre-Flight)

• Do the 2-minute pre-flight daily

Track B — Boost Your Battery

• Water before coffee daily

Track C — Build Mastery (Debrief)

• One-line debrief daily

Want the secret sauce?
Tell someone which track you chose. Accountability is a performance tool.

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Make It Stick: The “If-Then” Autopilot Trick

This is how pros lock habits in:

• If I pour coffee, then I drink water first.
• If I sit at my desk, then I write my Top 3.
• If I plug in batteries, then I do my one-line debrief.

Attach the habit to something you already do.
That’s autopilot.

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Wingman Close ✈️

You don’t need a perfect year.
You need a year where you stay in control more days than you drift.

So start small. Start sharp. Start repeatable.

And remember the Sky Commander way:

See Above. Go Beyond. Get Ahead.