Batman and Joker Arkham by Chuck Dee

One of the things I love about Batman is his attitude.

I can’t speak about the cinematic Batman, but the comic book Batman don’t take shit from nobody.
Whatever the situation Batman exercises his freedom of choice to choose his attitude to life.

Where others would give up and go home, Batman rises to the occasion, refusing to admit defeat, even in the most hopeless of situations.

When Bruce’s parents were murdered, instead of being lost in the story of his personal trauma, he rises above his trauma, and even uses it as a reason to better himself, rather than to give up.

When Batman is trapped in yet another insane death trap or horrible situation where he has been shot, stabbed, poisoned, beaten, gassed or is bleeding to death, he doesn’t give up.

Batman’s attitude is to overcome all obstacles and whatever life throws at him – like the Juggernaut – his attitude is an unstoppable force of nature.

Batman uses failures, setbacks and pain as fuel to propel himself to greatness. He transcends mortal conditions, making the ordinary extraordinary, not by any divine right, or by destiny, but simply because he chooses to be a little better today than he was yesterday.

Every day in Batman’s world is a chance to improve, to grow and evolve, one mistake at a time.

Even if Batman were to die it would be facing life’s difficulties head on, without a hint of fear in his eye.

Batman looks fear in the eye and laughs.

There are those fictional characters who have a death wish and are reckless, but a key distinction is that Batman has mastered his fears and his habits.

We can go through life either being a slave to our unconscious self-defeating habits, or we can be a master of our habits, by consciously choosing habits that serve us rather than hurt/sabotage us.

A wise man will be a master of his mind, and a fool will be its slave – Publilius Syrus

How do we move toward greatness or do incredible things? By putting one foot in front of the other, confidently and doggedly marching in the direction of our dreams one step at a time.

I rarely live up the example of Batman in my own life, but I at least try, and aim to be a better man each day that I live.

Learning from my mistakes and using setbacks as fuel to drive me toward greater heights is all about attitude.

Attitude comes down to perception, and you always have a choice how you perceive your personal reality.

I love how Batman fails and comes back better than ever. I love how Batman fails miserably but he never stops pursuing excellence in everything he does. He refines himself gradual through incremental progression – he never gives up, and he never stops moving. If he has a super-power it is his attitude and will power.

So, what does your attitude to life say about you?

Does your attitude hold you back with feeble excuses for what you have not done, or does your attitude propel you forward to new achievements like an unrelenting force of nature?

Do you make excuses for what you CAN’T do in life, or do you make excuses for what you CAN do?

For me, it comes down to three words. Call them a mantra, a catchphrase or whatever you like.