Yes, I am back and with this piece on one of the simplest and among the most fundamental aspects of our lives- our Attitude- towards- well almost everything and everyone around and what it ends up doing to us- well the altitude that you trim at eventually!
As a kid, growing up near a premier air force base, it was fun watching the fighter planes, bombers and freighters take off and land and with those scheduled commercial planes taking off regularly and with each of these instances- a purpose served! What was intriguing for me then (as a kid- not anymore-education and the wise world has done enough damage! This constant battle to retain sanity among certified idiots- both individuals and society -occasionally!- continues..) was the simple fact that each of those machines was different and valued for what it could do- All of them were similar until the lift-off- and that is where similarities ended and uniqueness came into play once they were airborne! You may not believe it, but this one simple observation is fundamental to what we do to our lives and where we end up being and doing what we do…Its all a matter of the attitude that you choose as you ramp up to your lift-off!
Continuing with my love for aviation and my observation; military jets can perform amazing maneuvers in the air and needless to say are one of the most potent weapons of choice in any modern day warfare- commercial flights seem to be more placid, graceful and serene in terms of the flight profile, the scenery along the way- sans the commotion and nuisance caused by those naive and annoying passengers in your next seat… Yes, you may argue that these are technically two completely different machines and are built that way- and this my friend, is my point! Each one of us- though similar in terms of physiological and neural hard wiring- we have that streak of difference within each one of us.
That slender streakish difference is based on the ingredients that have gone into us, through our formative years- family, friends, religious beliefs, orientations, etc. and all of this in totality culminates into creating a custom built model- one of a kind- tailor made- to overcome and deal with your immediate and future challenges and allow you to perform what you can achieve to the best possible extent given the context that you have been created in!
Of-course no commercial airliner is designed to perform a barrel-role or a n inverted Charlie, likewise no fighter plane was designed to use the entire 4000 meters of a runway and cruise at subsonic speeds at altitudes below 40,000 feet- the point here is their Intrinsic Attitude (their make- their formative genesis, their purpose and role) determines their performance, utility, deployment, fame, grandeur and their Altitude in their “machine life” whether these machines have served as envisaged by their designers and developers!
As humans, we too have a formative code, deeply carved and etched into our psyche by our education, family, surroundings, immediate society and the world as we perceive it- from the window seat that we get as we develop from different levels with the society elevator. Our composite attitude (approach towards life- on the basis of who we think we are and what we think we are capable of (as determined by our immediate influences and our own belief systems) goes on to decide what kind of runway we will seek in life to get airborne and pursue our aspirations and purposes that we think they are, based on our interpretation of who we are! Once airborne, the purpose we serve, the objectives that we meet and how much of appreciation we get, who watches us and who manages us to ensure our flight is completed is all a factor of the Altitude we strike! This is where your Altitude trim sets in- a trim level- which basically is a pint – you cannot push any further beyond it- for you are simply not designed to perform at the levels beyond!
There have been instances in the airline industry wherein air crashes have occurred going past the trim level (of course there were other contributory factors too), but the point here is; whether you are a machine or a person- you will falter and be ripped into your elements if you try to push yourself beyond the guidelines of your operating manual- read- your attitude- your personality make- the totality of who and what you are!
A lot of lives get wasted simply because often the realization and clarity of who we are is often delusional- end result you may be a personality type of the likes of a commercial airliner and end up trying a barrel role with a huge burden (read responsibilities and accountability) and you end up either in a crash landing or are simply obliterated! It is also about knowing your range- how long can you sustain doing what you plan to do (based on what you think who you are!) Flying over the Pacific with no fuel, will not be a very good idea- irrespective whether you are using the right aircraft type or not! Having a through check and know how about all that is needed to keep you afloat is around and available and is accounted for should be always at the very core of everything that you venture to do! Every flight dispatcher knows this, a well documented and detailed flight plan is a back up like nothing else- the more details you have about yourself and clarity about who and what you are- the greater are your chances to have a safe flight and end up at the destinations that you choose to visit- without suffering any collateral damage en-route!
Of course yes, there are more finer aspects to this whole attitude aspect, but the fundamental point on which I wanted to get you guys thinking was- Know yourself and have clarity (no delusional thinking, no day dreaming) the more clear you are about who and what you are- the more clear you will be about the journey you want to undertake and how you want to get there! The choice of being a fighter plane or a commercial airliner is all about the choice that you make about – who you are and what you want to be known as , how you want to achieve what you have set out for and what is the final cruising altitude that you have aspired and planned for! Certainly there’s a lot more that goes into all this fine application of flight science, but to get started, getting clarity on the fundamental is the first and biggest basic step- as they say, Know your Attitude and you will find your Altitude!
Leaving you with these thoughts- to reflect and think- who you are- what you are, where you wanna go and how you want to plan around it! Whatever you choose, whoever you are- remember- you are unique- each one of us is and even we are the same model- we will still have our won unique signature- what they call in the aviation parlance- Our “Call Sign“ well, that’s a topic for some other day! Until then keep planning and keep soaring.. this festive season plan a runway for your success in the times to come!
Ciao until next time…. always remember…your f**king attitude alone will give you “YOUR ALTITUDE”!
An Aura of Fleeting Thoughts 
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