If you want to grow old as a pilot, you've got to know when to push it, and when to back off.
Never wait for trouble.
Most pilots learn, when they pin on their wings and go out and get in a fighter, especially, that one thing you don't do, you don't believe anything anybody tells you about an airplane.
There's no such thing as a natural-born pilot.
The one word you use in military flying is duty. It's your duty. You have no control over outcome, no control over pick-and-choose. It's duty.
Rules are made for people who aren't willing to make up their own.