How's your PMA?

The other day, my kids were watching a show on the PBS kids website for Ruff Ruffman, some kind of a reality game show for kids. One of the challenges they faced involved some wilderness survival training. I forgot the name of the guy, but apparently he's some expert on surviving in the wild. If I remember correctly he's trained some big names including the Air Force.

As he was beginning his training with the kids, he asked them what they thought were essential to surviving in the wild, and I ask you the same question now, what is essential to surviving in the wild? Really think about it. You probably said something like shelter, clothing, food, water, etc. Quite frankly, so did the kids on the show. They were correct in their answers and so are you, but there is something that they all missed. More than likely you missed it, too.

It had me think about how we as people are so programmed to think of things as the answers to our situations. How often do we think about things as the solution to our survival in the everyday "wilderness"? When we're struggling in life our tendency is to do what? We look for answers in more money, a better job, a better house, a better car, a better partner, don't we? I'm not saying that those things may not help, but we very rarely start with the invisible. I use football analogies all the time, and here's one for you. It used to be that most football programs used the I formation, then it went to some other formation, and now everyone runs the spread offense. Nothing wrong with the formations and philosophical ideologies that have changed over the years, but the question is this, Is it the formations and ideologies or the belief in it that makes the difference? After all, at some point if everyone is running the spread offense, then all of the advantage is really wiped out, isn't it. What it comes down to is execution, and what does execution come down to? Practice? Well, yeah, but what does that come down to?

It comes down to the invisible, doesn't it? It's what we call the intangibles like commitment, work-ethic, attitude, perseverence and persistence. These are the things that show up in action, but think about how little or if ever you check your mindset on a moment to moment basis during the day. If you're like most people you get caught up in the doing and never consider your attitude, don't you? So the next time you find yourself struggling, perhaps rather than simply working harder, what's most important is to check your attitude. As I'm sure you've figured out by now, what the survival expert said was more imortant than anything else and comes first before everything else is PMA - Positive Mental Attitude. So, how's your PMA, right now?

Until next time...

Live FREE!