Where is my thick skin when I need it

I am an aggressive person when it comes taking on new challenges. However, my expectations of myself and the people involved in such endeavors is very high. When others do not meet those expectations, I get frustrated. When I do not meet those expectations, I go a bit beyond frustration, which removes some of capacity to take on new information. This behavior must change. It has no place in the cockpit.

My instructor and I had a miscommunication in the cockpit today. It derailed me a little bit because my instructor seemed stuck on one concept. I understood the concept and moved on to another concept. The reason is that my instructor thought I said one word (dive) instead of another word (diamond). For a few seconds there, it was almost a 'who's on first' mishap. I do not need to go into details. The truth is, part of me was annoyed that my instructor did not show awareness of the miscommunication because he lacked confidence in my ability to access and quickly correct. It seemed a bit insulting. Hence, I need thicker skin.

There is no way I am going convince an experienced teacher and professional pilot to perhaps give me the benefit of the doubt in situations such as this. I tried and failed. There are few reaons for this. One, it matters little in the big picture. Either way, I made a mistake followed by a correction. So what if are perception on how quickly the correction occurred varies. Two, instructors cannot play guessing games or make assumptions. Three, experienced pilots are a stubborn lot, as their compromises can cost lives.

I figure I am well on the way of becoming a good pilot. My skin is getting thicker and, due to urgency demanded by my instructor, I am reprioritizing things to meet those demands.

My instructor says it best, the cockpit is a horrible classroom.

Not all people are cut out to be pilots. It is simply one of toughest things to do. I was trying to think of what personality types work well as pilots. I know this one person who is a building architect. He is great thinking on his feet, maintains knowledge of a ton of regulations, is commanding in his decisions, has broad technical knowledge including physics, and he has a firm grasp of procedures and priorities. He would make an outstounding pilot. If I could just harness some of those qualities.

Anyway, todays flight was full of events, as usual. Never a dull moment re-entering the ADIZ. Traffic coming and going, radio alive with chatter. After a hour of flying, my brain is fried. Coming into the ADIZ is an overload. I am thankful my instructor had us land and take a break in Culpepper.

Today, per my request, we worked on slow flight, forward slips, emergency procedures, steep turns, traffic patterns, and ADIZ communications. Everyday is a day of working on situational awareness. I was really happy that I did not lose ANY altitude transitioning to and from slow flight. I stayed within 20 feet of 3000. With steep turns, I stayed within 100. I can do better. ADIZ communications I can handle. It is when the traffic gets a bit busy trying to determine what Potomac Approach is saying that I struggle a bit.