As intelligent as most of us are, we still do some rather dumb things. Even so, there are some really outstanding incidences of dumbness around the world. For instance, an event reported in the UK Guardian relates the story of an unnamed man who got stuck on a second floor window ledge of his home.
It seems this gentlemen locked his keys in the house. He was unable to access any of the windows or doors on the first floor so the second story bathroom window was his best option. He didn’t have access to a ladder that would reach, so he improvised. He stacked two wheeled garbage cans on top of his car to enable him to reach the window.
Somehow he managed to climb up the two garbage cans and reach the window. This was a dangerous stunt, but evidently he would not only survive this level of dumbness but could enter his locked home via the window. But, alas, the window was too small for him to enter.
So there he was on top of the garbage cans with an open window he couldn’t fit through. How could his day get worse? Well, if you said, “the garbage cans could fall off the car,” you’d be right! He was now caught on a much-too-narrow ledge with no way down other than falling onto his car – causing both he and the vehicle certain damage. The man was on the verge of having a story he could brag about at the local pub, but ended up with a story that was so embarrassing he had to be elated his name wasn’t mentioned in the story.
The good news was that the fire department came to his rescue and even had a small fire fighter climb through the bathroom window to unlock the house. The bad news was that the homeowner was thoroughly embarrassed for his ingenious act of dumbery (and, yes, I know that’s not a real word).
We all find ourselves in difficult circumstances and very often we have no one to blame but ourselves. Believe me, I’ve done more than my fair share of dumb things. Sometimes I get by with it; other times I pay the price for a bad choice. Sometimes I get rescued; other times I am left pay the price.
So, speaking as someone who is in the same boat as you are, let me suggest how we can respond to making dumb decisions:
(1) Don’t blame others.
(2) Take personal responsibility.
(3) Make apologies and/or amends where possible.
(4) Learn to laugh at yourself.
(5) Learn from your mistake.
Be Transformed 