A lot of engineering is experiential - you can only effectively utilize the theory when put into practical usage, since each application will require different rules. With instruments, it's just like any other skill - you practice the mundane, monotonous, rudimentary aspects so much that they become second nature to you so you don't have to think. So in both situations, trying to be proactive instead of reactive is going against the grain.
It's important to know the material, but only if the knowledge lets you think less, not more.