This subject has been on my mind lately.
I did some checking and found that one of the most important instruments in an airplane cockpit is the gyroscope that tells the pilot what his attitude is! Don’t you wish we had an instrument that could tell us what our attitude is??!!
Attitude is critical for an airplane to stave off a potential crash. What this gyroscope shows the pilot is the relationship of the nose of his plane to the horizon. A pilot needs this so he can continue to stay on course and airborne.
I have read that (particularly in jet fighters that are flying very fast) a pilot can become disoriented and actually fly the plane upside down. Without an awareness of where the horizon is, the fighter pilot could think he is climbing in altitude when, in reality, he is driving his jet right into the ground. Thus, the saying in Pilot Training School: “Attitude is EVERYTHING!”
The same thing holds true when looking at our character. I’ve heard any number of motivational speakers/writers say the same thing, “Your attitude determines your altitude.”
Possessing a negative attitude generally means that when things go wrong, you’re probably going to crash and burn — just like that airplane! However, a person with a positive attitude keeps his “nose up!” He is more likely to overcome an obstacle or negative situation because he keeps a positive outlook. This person is going to keep looking for a way to get over, under, around or through the obstacle. Why? Because he believes he can do it!
My wife and I took a trip to the Canyon Lands of the SW US (Arizona and Utah) back in the fall. The Grand Canyon, in particular, is truly one of the great natural wonders of the world! I heard about a guy, John Wesley Powell, who took 10 men with him in 1869 to try to become the first men to travel down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. I was so interested in Powell’s story that I bought a book on the expedition. What these men accomplished (they DID make it) was a phenomenal feat!
What stood out for me, though, was the fact that 2 of the men gave up late in the journey and climbed the steep walls of the Grand Canyon because they just couldn’t take it anymore! They were sure that Powell and the crew were never going to make it to the other end of the Grand Canyon along the river. So… they quit! They quit ONE DAY before the crew floated out of the canyon and onto easy-flowing river currents!!!! One day!!!
As so often happens, our negative attitude forces us to give up before we reach our goal. It’s amazing to me how close a person can be to accomplishing his goal — and he just quits!
Winston Churchill’s words resonate through my mind quite often. He told the people of England during the darkest hours of WW II to, “Never, never, never give up! and… NEVER give in!!!” I’m echoing those same words to you.
