“attitude vs. ATTITUDE”

Stress is something we bring on ourselves. How to cope with stress is not always an easy thing to pull off.
Lets look at a trek, a camp in the woods, and it begins to storm, and the wind kicks up and it is way colder than we thought it might be. Bitch , bitch, complain and whine and more bitching. Well, being a former Marine I know how to really bitch and have made an art form of it, all Marines did. Getting down to brass tacks, all it really is is “attitude” .

I am going to pull one of those my Daddy always said, my Daddy always said , “any stupid S.O.B. can make themselves into a miserable ” , just keep it up and pretty soon you will be so miserable you will have lost any way out. They have convinced themselves that it is so , and so it is. Wrong! Attitude enters the picture, big and ugly and looking for you. Not a negative attitude, and not a pollyanna attitude, but an “Attitude” of “adventure”, of we can make this okay, not the way we planned to spend our day and night but let's make the best way we can. Attitude can be our friend.

Another way to put it is “mindset” and the mind will point out the attitude you decide to take. Making a bad weather situation , for example, into a challenge that can be met with humor with a real attitude is much better than the “screw it ” attitude. And the bitch attitude, fix it, make it do, and create a space for yourself and whoever else is with you. So you will be stuck there, cant hike, etc, build a leanto, or put up your tents, tell stories, make some hot coffee or hot chocolate, kick back enjoy the surroundings, hell you are not stuck at work. Watch the weather and see if you can spot any critters, nope, that because they are curled up and snug, make it so for yourself.

A little cold? Ahh so make a list of what you need to carry next time. Have an in depth talk with your fellow “attitude challenged friends” , make it an adventure.

You will no doubt have “heroes” , writers, from the past you look up to who wrote of the wild woods, the high deserts, the mountain meadows, do you think that each and every time they ventured into the Dirt it was all just perfect. No it was not. They were caught in the bad stuff, if that is what it really is, or not.. What would they have done? Kept busy is what they would have done. Make some crafty items, fool around with some trap triggers you never had time for. Try and keep that damn fire from going out, see if finding that dry wood can really be done as you have heard. Or read a book for awhile, take a nap , observe  nature.

At the Dirttime Event in Wyoming , DT10, we had rain, mud and several other challenges to overcome. A lot of things behind the scenes that most were not aware of. I bitched about some behind the scenes problems, but the weather? Nope, just deal with it. 99% of the Dirttimers didn't bitch, we improvised and made do the best we could. Most were prepared. A few didn't have all the gear needed in the rain, we got some extra gear from other Dirttimers. Our classes went on as planned, the cooking was done and  the hot food did cheer us up, everyone did their part and then some. By the second and third day the sun was out and we were dry and happy again. Attitude!
Did we like it raining ? No, but nothing ground to a halt. Attitude made into an adventure to be “lived”, to experience and tell the story later on in our  life.

Everything in life does not go as planned, not news to any of us. However, your own “Attitude ” and how you view what can be an adventure is a key part of living. Even if you are stopped cold in your tracks, and have to turn back down the trail, make it work for you and change the direction of your adventure.

Attitude and the “oh crap attitude”, mindset and what is. Deal with it. No one wants to hear someone whine and moan even if they feel like it themselves. Attitude can be directed. Fix it so you have the adventure in mind no matter what. That's the attitude.

By Dude McLean

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