Snakes don't like Altitude

I don’t know how true that this saying is but I have heard that snakes can’t stand altitude. They story goes that a pilot was flying a plane only to discover that it was filled with rattlesnakes after he had taken off. When he called the control tower his instructions were to go higher because snakes can’t stand altitude.

Now before you begin to get technical and raise all sorts of issues like asking why they were there in the first place or what about when he had to come down let me elaborate. The purpose of this story is to make a point. I have learned in life that nothing or no one is a problem unless we allow them to be. The moral of the story is that we need to rise above.

Sometimes I am amazed by the fact that people will waste so much time wrapped up in meaningless details and small problems to ever gain altitude in life. We have to learn how to rise above bad situations and circumstances in life and even negative people. Negative things won’t turn into positives unless we do something about them. Worrying about them won’t make them positive. Either we will gain altitude or lose it. If we continue to look up we will gain but if we continue to look down at our problems we will lose.

Richard Pryor and Cicely Tyson played in a movie once where she starred as a social worker who wanted to save some disturbed children from negative circumstances by driving them cross country. The problem was that she didn’t have any means of transportation other than a run down school bus which had not been operated in years.

She seemed to never hear the complaints of the mechanic as he told her it was an impossible task. Each time he attempted to explain the dire situation to her she would begin to talk about what they needed to do. She never addressed a problem as a problem during the entire movie. The end result was that they successfully drove the bus from Philadelphia to Washington State. The trip was not without its problems but they made it.

She maintained her altitude despite the fact that there were more than enough problems to keep her down. She never focused on her problems but on the task that she needed to accomplish.

Don’t deny reality but maintain your focus when things are tough. The only way to do this is to remain fixed on your goal. The problems that you may encounter along the way are nothing but minor annoyances that you just have to deal with. The same is true of people or circumstances. People, situations, and circumstances are only temporary. They will not remain the same forever. Deal with them as they occur and keep moving. Don’t let negativity cloud your relationships with other people or your good judgment.

I have learned that I have to relax totally before I spend time thinking about a decision which needs to be made. The relaxation frees my mind from those worries which hang over me and cloud my judgment. It helps me to make good clear decisions.

Leaders should be objective when they evaluate their people or circumstances. The only way to retain objectivity is to learn to allow the petty things to fall away. If a thing doesn’t have an immediate effect on your circumstances its best to just let it go. Release that extra weight so that you can gain some altitude. The Good Life