If I was any better, I would be twins!!!!

[Muenkel 0]

As some of you know, this month has been a real funk for me. A friend emailed this story to me this morning. I am sharing it with all of you, because it reminded me of the attitude of you skydivers.Blue skies!
READ THIS. LET IT REALLY SINK IN.
THEN CHOOSE HOW YOU START YOUR DAY TOMORROW.
Michael is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say: When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "if I were any better, I would be twins!"
He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Michael was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Michael and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"
Michael replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it.
I choose to learn from it.
Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.
"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.
"Yes, it is," Michael said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood.
The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."
I reflected on what Michael said. Soon thereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it..
Several years later, I heard that Michael was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Michael was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.
I saw Michael about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied. "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?"
I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone
through his mind as the accident took place.
"The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon to be born daughter," Michael replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I chose to live."
"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. Michael continued, "...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In
their eyes, I read "he's a dead man. I knew I needed to take action."
"What did you do?" I asked.
"Well there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,"
Michael. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. "Yes, I replied." The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, "Gravity." Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."
Michael lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.
If you're not confused, you're not paying attention.
Chris

[ChromeBoy 0]

That story reminds me of Dove. She had that attitude all the way through her injury.
Hey Muenkel. When are you gonna come and hang out with us at Skydive Boston Providence sometime? We would love to see you out there!

[freeflir29 0]

Yep....don't ever give up. Unfortunately, I have witnessed more than one person that had to make that choice. Fortunately, they were all fighters and chose to live. Life is 100% fatal but let's not give up before YOUR time is here. "Here I come to save the BOOBIES!"

[kmcguffee 0]

Thanks for the story. Very true and also, harder than it sounds with all of the stupid people I work with.

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I declined to see his wounds

Definite breach of guy etiquette. You always compare scars when asked!
"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."

[Muenkel 0]

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Hey Muenkel. When are you gonna come and hang out with us at Skydive Boston Providence sometime? We would love to see you out there!

And I would love to be out there.
First, I have to recover from my injuries. Second, I have to take my AFF, but I am in the process of requesting a refund from the DZ in Florida so I can take my AFF here in Mass. The DZ in Florida does not seem to be too interested in giving me a refund, despite an injury and a death in the family!
If you're not confused, you're not paying attention.
Chris

[jfields 0]

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I declined to see his wounds
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Definite breach of guy etiquette. You always compare scars when asked!

Unless the scars are urological in nature, in which case you are allowed to decline. Justin

[kmcguffee 0]

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Unless the scars are urological in nature, in which case you are allowed to decline.

Agreed, there are certain "exceptions". "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."