JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
In a recent Airlift Dispatch commentary, Master Sgt. Jeff Tynan talked about choices we make on a daily basis and the effects of those choices. He went on to talk about the consequences we face when we make poor decisions. Understanding the penalties of poor behavior is important and understanding the actions that follow the consequence is equally important.
In the First Sergeant "business," we must often help our commanders establish and maintain good order and discipline. This means we consistently deal with Airmen who have failed to meet Air Force standards. It is my experience, after the punishment or corrective action has run its course, the Airmen usually react in one of two ways: they remain problematic or become model Airmen.
It's refreshing when we see the latter. In their book, Toy Box Leadership, Ron Hunter Jr. and Michael Waddell compare the endurance of a good leader - and I contend, a good Airman - to the unique characteristics of the Weebles toys: if they are knocked over, they don't stay down.
Noted leadership expert John Maxwell says this ability to bounce back is the greatest difference between average people and achieving people. In Failing Forward, he says the one factor which "separates those who shine from those who don't," is their "perception of and response to failure."
In other words, it's not what happens to you that matters, but how you deal with what happens. You can choose to curse the system or you can dust yourself off and get back on the right track.
At some point in our career, most - if not all - of us have failed. The successful person didn't dwell on the failure, but on how to keep it from holding them back. The secret isn't in trying to change the circumstances, but in changing one's self. Nelson Mandela wrote in his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, "The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
Just as we generally have two choices before we get in trouble, we similarly have two choices after we get in trouble. We can blame the system for its unfair rules and regulations, or we can realize we failed to meet Air Force standards and resolve to be a better Airman as a result.
Remember, adversity doesn't build character, it reveals it. What does your reaction to consequences reveal about you?