(Principles are basic truths that, when applied, cause success to come to you easier and quicker.)
PIO is shorthand for Pilot Induced Oscillation, a no-no in a flying machine. It occurs most frequently during landing when a pilot notices something is ‘off’ in the flight path and, in attempting to put things right, over-corrects. This is usually followed by an over-correction in the other direction and things get worse resulting in an oscillation, pilot-induced. Not a good situation.
Of course this S3MC is not about flying. It’s about where we, in attempting to get our life back on course, do just the wrong thing and make it worse. What’s that about?
The number one issue with PIO is inexperience. The solution is practice. An experienced pilot knows what’s going on and applies just the right amount of input. And they do so because they’ve practiced until their response is automatic.
Almost as important as experience is knowing that sometimes things will correct themselves and we just need to let the natural correction occur. For instance, in the flying world airplanes are designed to stabilize into a healthy attitude if we’ll just let them. Experience helps here also.
Finally, having someone show you what can happen if you over-correct allows you to benefit from their experience. That’s why we have books, training aids, teachers, mentors, and, yes, Coaches. You don’t have to go through scary over-corrections, PIOs, in order to grow.
Coaching Point: What are you going through right now that you want to be smooth?
Copyright 2015 Steve Straus. All rights reserved.