I Dare You #14 - Push Your (own) Buttons

Accept. Adapt. Achieve! ®

At one time or another, we have all heard, “Think outside the box.”  
 
Ironically, in today’s boxed-in world, thinking outside the box is almost impossible. 
 
We sleep on a box.

We bathe and shower in a box.

We live in a box.

We drive in a box.

We work in a box.

Most of our external thinking is done by a box (computer or smartphone).

And we often get our (fast) food in a box.  
 
Yes: our lives are full of boxes.
 
But for this week's Dare, the most important box is the good ol' elevator.
 
As we stand before the closed door of the yet-to-be-called elevator, we have only one small-but-significant decision to make:

    Up or down?
 
Upon waking in the morning and setting a course for an office building, service place, or manufacturing facility, we don’t spend much time thinking about HOW we will get to our place of employment. Yet we somehow arrive at the correct address, select an appropriate floor of the proper building, and then arrive at our exact destination.
 
Likewise, there is another type of elevator-box that can actually free us from the confines of a bad attitude.

I call this box the Elevator of Life.
 
The Elevator of Life offers an opportunity to choose the direction of our attitude every hour of the day. And if we can set a short and simple course for just a few hours during one single day of positive thought and action, we can definitely weave together one day of the same... and then another day... and then another day… and so on.
 
BUT... we must first make one grand decision:
 
Which button shall we press:

Up or down?
 
If we press the ‘up’ button, the elevator will simply take us up.  
 
If we press the ‘down’ button, the elevator will definitely take us down.  
 
And in our respective lives, selecting a good or bad attitude can be as simple as pushing a button. 
 
However, on too many occasions, we blame others for our attitude.

We blame coworkers or spouses for making us mad. We blame children for making us lose our temper. We blame our jobs for making us unhappy.

We blame, we blame, and we blame. 
 
Why do we freely GIVE so much blame to others? 
 
Instead of giving the blame to others, let’s accept our response-able roles in pressing the single button that raises or lowers the Elevator of Life.  
 
Just the other day, I overheard someone say to a coworker, “See what you made me do: I got off on the wrong floor!”
 
Really?
 
I’m guessing she chose to overlook the fact that her nose was buried into her iPhone screen as she blindly followed the exiting crowd off the elevator and onto a different floor.
 
In a “real-life” elevator, it’s nonsensical to blame other people when we get off on the wrong floor.

Likewise, it makes no sense to blame other people after we push the DOWN button when we actually meant to go UP to a higher level.  
 
In a remarkably similar fashion, we shouldn’t blame other people when our personal attitude is in an apparent, actual, or even almost downward spiral.
 
Perhaps the Elevator of Life seems too simplistic.  
 
Or perhaps you think it doesn’t apply to your daily life or how you think.  
 
Well, consider what happens as soon as you walk towards the elevator in a building:

Before you actually enter the transportation portal, you are faced with one simple question… one singular choice: To what relative level do you prefer to travel?
 
Will you descend downward…or ascend to greater heights?
 
Is your yet-to-be-chosen floor ABOVE or BELOW your present location? 
 
Up or down?
 
Likewise, in the Elevator of Life, regardless of how you have arrived at your current place in life, you still have one simple choice to make: To what relative location will you go from here?
 
It really is a simple choice:

Up or down?
 
Yes: where you currently stand is important.
 
But where you are going is far more important!
 
Like water UNDER the bridge, your challenges will come and go.
 
But don’t treat those challenges as if they (or you) are particularly special because of them (the challenges). After all, everyone faces challenges. Yes, some challenges appear insurmountable and hopeless. However, as Elvis said, “Life goes on, and this ol’ world will keep on turning.” And as you stand within your respective box (your Elevator of Life), you are faced with one critical choice: 
 
Will your thoughts and actions descend downward into the deep, darkest pit of despair? Or will you press the UP button and self-exalt yourself OUT of your current malaise?  
 
By actively, consistently, and persistently choosing to push the UP button, your Elevator of Life will escalate higher... and then higher still. And as sailors and aviators know, the height of our eyes determines our ability to see up to, over, and beyond the horizon. The higher our altitude, the farther we can see past the current horizon. 
 
Most fascinating is this concept of “the horizon.”
 
It is “there” until it is “here.”
 
I can see it, but I can’t actually see it... or get to it.
 
But if I stand tall enough… if I elevate my mind and body high enough, I can actually see OVER it… only to be greeted by yet another horizon.
 
Yes, my friend: the higher your attitude, the better you can see past your current problems… and the (more) better you will become in your quest to deal more effectively with challenges that exist before, at, and over the current horizon.  Please, please, please do not underestimate this far-reaching invocation of your synergistic self.  Once you have elevated your being, you are perfectly poised to become what others will perceive as prescient… knowing in advance what they simply cannot see.
 
(Speaking of synergy and your synergistic self, allow me to digress and say, “There I said it; there I done it: SYNERGY!” Perhaps it is a trite, overused word. And perhaps it is often used totally out of context. Nevertheless, like the healthy mushrooms, cauliflower, and onions that are all too often deep-fried into a delicious, devilish dish devoid of almost any recognizable nutritional goodness, the original product is still amazingly wonderful).  But I digress…
 
When you align your mind, body, and “synergistic self,” you become a force with which the world must reckon.  
 
And as your height of attitude grows, so, too, will your ability to forgive others, focus on the positive, and find your mission in life. As you accept, adapt, and achieve… your Elevator of Life will continue to ascend, streaking toward the wild blue yonder until…
 
           WHOOOSH ! 
 
Like that wacky elevator in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, you and your true self will escape the mighty confines of a building designed by others. No longer restricted to a view from the inside looking out, you will see far beyond the top floor of a place where other people remain tethered to hopes of reaching the (mere) top (of that particular place).
 
As you leave the comfortably restrictive confines of the building, you will soon discover that the top of that particular box is nowhere near where you want to be.
 
You will soon think, live, and play far outside of that box. 
 
You will achieve The Ideal Life.
 
May I remind you that The Ideal Life is not perfect; there is no such thing as perfection. However, in The Ideal Life, sooner or later, we discover those things that are perfectly suited for us. Some people might even say those things were created specifically for us. Yet many more people will simply push the DOWN button, getting off on not only the "wrong" floor, but also on the wrong foot, the wrong path, and the wrong side of their personal history.
 
In reality, there is no “wrong” floor… as long as you have somehow learned from that little diversion of an excursion.

Accordingly, as you look back over the years, and through those doors so long-ago closed… embrace the best and worst of times.  
 
Every single one of those times belongs to you.

They are all yours.  
 
But you don’t necessarily belong to them.
 
And since you can’t change them, you might as well consider those life episodes as assets, and not the liabilities we seem to happily heap upon ourselves. 
 
Here’s the Idea:
It is impossible to think about two things at once. When we CHOOSE to FOCUS on positivity, we begin to see more and more positivity.  Notice the emphasis on the word “choose.”  We have a choice regarding our ability to respond to things in life.  And as you and I know, there are plenty of things that can potentially bring us down in life.  Aside from those things, why not choose to see positivity elsewhere, especially when it comes to your specific life.
 
Here’s the Deal:
FOCUS on the positive aspects of life, and you will automatically overcome negativity.
 
In a quest for The Ideal Life, we all face the same allegory… this Elevator of Life.
 
Sure, we can always look back at any particular episode in our lives and figure out a way to blame this, that, or the other for our current situation.  
 
But that’s like getting off the elevator and staying stuck on the wrong floor.  
 
There is no wrong floor. Join me on this elevator and say to your self:
 
As long as I am alive and reading the pages of this awesome blog, I have a very credible opportunity to do something great with my life. What is this great thing I can do with my life?
 
I can simply live it!
 
And I can live it to the fullest.
 
I will not allow lessons to be seen as mistakes.
 
I will not get stuck on the wrong floor. Every floor matters, whether I liked it or not.

Every floor I have ever walked has added some form of value to my life.  
 
Best of all, I now realize that I can simply and literally turn myself and my attitude around; face the elevator door once again… and push the UP button.

​Yes, it is true: My attitude determines my altitude. And today, I want The Ideal Life.
 
Today, I accept the fact that, regardless of what has happened in the previous days of my life, I still retain the awesome power to choose my attitude. No one else has this power to change me.  
 
Only me.
 
I can always push the UP button!
 
And I will...
 
**********
Indeed…
 
It’s all about YOU. 
 
But tell me: 
 
What’s your role in your soul, your goal, and for whom the bell tolls? 
 
Today, I dare you: Push Your (own) Buttons.
 
Accept. Adapt. Achieve! ®

John H. Clark III is an optimistic realist.
 
He believes better development of leaders is what we (all) need.  And to be better organizations, we need more good leaders, not followers. To build better leaders, we must start with the individual (you, she, he, and me).
 
Described as “an innovative leader,” John teaches leaders, organizations, and individuals how to inspire each other. With a bold goal to inspire a worldwide community of optimistic realists who continuously accept, adapt to, and achieve the bold and beautiful concept of The Ideal Life, John is leading a movement to inspire people to apply his trademarked mantra {Accept. Adapt. Achieve! ®}.
 
An innovative business manager and retired naval officer, John is fascinated by leaders and organizations that make the greatest impact within their organizational culture and within the “real” world — people who “get it.” Over the course of his life as a military leader, corporate mentor, and innovative content creator, John has discovered a wealth of insight about how we think, act and communicate within our respective work/life environments. As a career naval officer, mentor, educator, and optimistic realist, he has devoted his life to sharing insights to assist in our quests to become better at what we all do – live @ work!
 
An optimist with a penchant for writing about realistic solutions to the challenges of everyday life, John is the author of 3 books: a leadership-development insider, "The Ideal: Your guide to An Ideal Life," a teen-focused guide, "Getting Out: Expert Advice for Today’s Teens," and the Christian-based book, "God’s Heartbeat: A Powerful Premise for Leading a Christian Life."
 
He delivers a unique and refreshing point of view to life's seemingly overwhelming situations. 
 
Through books, blogs, and everyday conversation, John's message resonates with an empowering blend of ideals that enrich, uplift, and “authorize” people to set and achieve goals far beyond current mindsets.  His trademarked phrase is a winner: ​