In response to a troubling rise in surface safety incidents, the FAA Safety Team recently issued a call to action for all general and business aviation pilots, emphasizing the importance of familiarization with your destination airport. The goal: zero serious close calls on the ground and in the air.

Learning to fly isn’t easy, but it’s not supposed to be—that’s why it’s so rewarding when you earn that certificate. Acknowledge up front that you will have both good and bad days during training, and don’t beat yourself up after every mistake. I like to take a two week moving average of my performance, which prevents me from getting too high after a great lesson or too low after a really bad one.