Flat Tire Thankfulness

Today was one of those days.  You know, one of those days filled with frustrations and plenty of SMH (i.e. "Shaking My Head" for those of you that aren't Millennials).  We rented a car to drive from Atlanta to Michigan to visit family for the Thanksgiving holiday.  When the trip ended and we returned the care, I discovered that our car that had been parked at the rental place had not one but TWO FLAT TIRES!!!

Fortunately the rental company had an air compressor.  I started airing up my tire.  I continued airing up the tire.  Minutes late, I was still airing up the tire.  10 minutes later, the tire was inflated to its proper PSI.  It was time for the other tire.  It didn't take as long because I stopped before it was completely inflated.  Impatience was running wild.  It was inflated enough to go to a gas station with free air . . . air that came out of the nozzle much quicker. I mentioned to the rental company that their air compressor was the slowest ever.

Eventually, I decide to drive to a tire company and get my tires fixed.  It is a long stretch of road with a heavy traffic and what seems like a record number of traffic lights.  Most of them know I am coming so they quickly turn yellow and even more rapidly turn red.  Seriously!

Finally, I get to the tire store.  They size up the situation and let me know it will be about 30-45 minutes.  That must have been the time it would take before they even thought about checking out my car.  I sat in the waiting room for much longer than 30-45 minutes - without Wifi, if you can imagine!

On my way home, I was listening to one of Daniel Hare's All-Star Leader Podcasts about Thanksgiving (a few days late, obviously) and he made a statement that hit me like a load of bricks:

"It is not happy people who are thankful, but thankful people who are happy."

My frustration was with an air compressor that took forever.  But I had two flat tires and it was raining.  That slow air compressor was cheaper and quicker than a tow truck.  What a blessing!

The red lights frustrated me but how often do I take for granted all of the green lights that I get?  

The tire company made me wait longer than they said it would take but ended up fixing both tires for free.  They also said that it would months before I'd need new tires so I should use that time to watch for coupons or rebate offers to use when it is time to get new tires.  What the what?!?

I am a motivational speaker.  I talk about mental toughness and having the right attitude about stuff.  I quote the noted philosopher and genuine hero, Captain Jack Sparrow all the time: 

"The problem is not the problem.  The problem is our attitude toward the problem."

How could I lose sight of this?  For Pete's sake, one of my best performing tweets of all time is a picture of flat tire with the quote:

"A bad attitude is like a flat tire.  You can't get very far until you change it."

It is the age old glass half-empty or half-full dilemma.  However, when it comes to life, we truly are about as happy as we decide we will be.  It is up to us to determine our attitude.  No person or situation can make us feel a certain way unless we allow it.

Author and Pastor, Charles Swindoll once said, 

"Life is 10% what happens to us but 90% how we react to the stuff that happens to us."  

Sure, all of my problems were inconveniences today.  But the real problem was my attitude toward the happenings of everyday life.  We constantly need to be aware of the positive blessings all around us.  How are we reacting to things that happen to us?  Are we only seeing red lights or are we seeing all the green lights in our lives?

When he is not airing up tires or figuring out what to do without Wifi, Jamy Bechler is a John Maxwell Certified Leadership Speaker and Executive Coach who talks to various audiences quoting fictional pirates.  Contact him at CoachBechler@CoachBechler.com to find out how you or your team can be more successful.   You can also subscribe to his leadership insights & newsletter by clicking here.