I began flying the normal way, with standard private pilot training.
But, one of the members of my club reported how he had been flying 'over the top' (of clouds), as is permitted in the USA without an instrument rating. He was getting dangerously low on fuel, with solid clouds under him as far as he could see. He had to be rescued by a Hercules, who led him down through the clouds to safety. On the principle of learning one more thing than you think you will need, I immediately got a night rating, which covers keeping control of your bird on instruments in the air, including in clouds.
Then, flying a shared Cessna, I experienced a total Nav/Com/ADF failure. I was VFR, so was in no difficulty, landed at a NORDO strip and got the offending power supply fixed. But I asked myself, what if I were in the clag (clouds) when that happened? A session with my instrument instructor followed, learning how to use the compass at the top of the windshield for stability in direction (step on the wire), keeping airspeed in the middle of maneuvering range with elevator, and keeping the aircraft level by 'seat of the pants': no sliding on the seat.
Finally, a fellow flyer had a bug hit his pitot tube which blocked it, disabling his airspeed indicator. How to control airspeed in the safe region without an indicator?
I was flying U206 cargo birds to the Moose River Mosoni at the time, and remembered a Cree boatman who took me out into solid mist in James Bay, turned the motor off, and waited until my listening turned into feeling the land hidden in the mist as he did.
With a fellow pilot in the right seat of a 172, I practiced feeling the air the same way, with eyes shut to concentrate. When the airspeed got too high the sound in the cockpit took on a sharper edge, when too slow it sounded dull. When the bird started to bank, tilting my head to one side then the other revealed that it sounded higher on one side than the other; tilting the ailerons to the low side levelled the plane. After enough practice, I could fly with eyes shut for as long as I wanted and maintain stable control.
Well, I never needed the skill for real, but I was never on 'my last out' either, and no one ever needed so much as a band-aid as a result of my flying. And, I've never forgotten sitting in the near-silent mist of James Bay, and what I learned there.