I was an idiot

It's not my hat he chewed.  

"I’m sorry officer, I was an idiot and I’ll not do that again."

It was a nice sunny afternoon and I was motoring along a three-lane highway with my daughter.  We were driving to meet the rest of our family and my daughter had just described a situation she faced recently when the driver of a taxi she was travelling in was driving rather fast. 

That’s when the blue lights started flashing behind me so I pulled over to let the officer past as he was evidently in a hurry.  Unfortunately, he was in a hurry to pull me over.

Isn't it funny how red, white and blue represent freedom unless they're flashing behind you?
~ Anon.

In my defence, I had simply performed exactly the same manoeuvre that the guy in front of me had performed a few minutes earlier.  However, he had the benefit of not having the highway patrol car just behind him at the time.  I suspect that the officer who was approaching me slowly from behind wouldn’t be terribly receptive to that line of defence, so I chose the “I’m an idiot” approach instead.  Fortunately, on that occasion, we concluded our conversation with a gentleman’s agreement that I wouldn’t do that manoeuvre again, and he would let me continue my journey. 

That was just after he advised me that in the State of Florida speeding was an arrest-able offence.  Oh my, what a splendid example of mature, responsible driving I had managed to give to my daughter that afternoon.

I suspect that the outcome could have been quite different if I had taken a different attitude though.  I’m pretty sure that using a “What about the other guy” or “Haven’t you got some real villains to catch” response might have led to a somewhat different outcome. 

Whenever I think about attitude I can’t help but be reminded of a British poet and comedienne called Pam Ayers, perhaps best known for a poem entitled “Oh, I wish I’d looked after me teeth”.  She once told a tale about a time when a dog had managed to take a bite out of some other guy’s hat.  Having been chastised by him with “I don’t like your attitude”, her reply, with tongue firmly in cheek and a wry grin on her face was: “It’s not my hat he chewed!”.  I think it probably falls firmly into the category of “bad dad jokes” so I usually keep that reminiscence to myself.

“It is your attitude, more than your aptitude, that will determine your altitude.”
~ Zig Ziglar

There are many quotes that share a variation of “Attitude determines altitude”, and it is interesting to reflect on the idea that we can be masters of our attitude or mastered by our attitude.  It a choice.  We can end up as a victim or become a victor.  We can’t do much about our natural skill or aptitude to a situation, task or challenge, but we can make a massive difference in our attitude in how we engage with it. 

“Aptitude gets you on the team, Attitude gets you off the bench.”

I recall a time when I was a School Governor at the school to which my children went.  The Headmaster there was a guy that exhibited a fabulous attitude and I still remember it many years later.  Whatever challenging circumstances came along he always had a really great attitude and seemed to find a solution to the challenge that made the result even better than before the challenge presented itself.  His was a “can do” and a “we’ll find a way” attitude that was really inspiring to the entire board.

When someone has a good attitude, even when the outcome of their activity isn’t going according to plan, that can be channelled into a great outcome.  I like how John Maxwell puts it in his recently released book “Developing the leader within you 2.0”:

“When we understand the other fellow’s viewpoint - understand what he is trying to do - nine times out of ten he is trying to do right.  As a leader, I always try to see things from two perspectives: that of the other person I’m working with and my own.  I use the other person’s perspective to make a connection; then mine to give direction.”
~ John Maxwell

A good attitude can always be channelled in the right direction, and a bad attitude rarely makes progress.  Progress depends less on position than on disposition, and that’s a choice we can make every day in every situation.