My colleagues kick ass. There. I've said it. And yes, I used the word "ass" to talk about people who work in an elementary school. They work with small children, sure --but they do, in fact, metaphorically kick ass. If someone messed with the kids they work with, they would literally kick ass, but most of the time, they keep it in the realm of metaphors.
What is a "kick ass attitude"? What makes my colleagues so excellent to be around? I've been thinking about it, and here is one characteristic I've noticed that they share: No matter what gets thrown at them, they respond with humor. Not necessarily grace, but humor? Always. You have to understand, when I say 'no matter what gets thrown at them', I have seen some interesting things thrown by little hands. My colleagues laugh about it. They can handle just about anything that gets chucked their way, joke about it, and then (here's what blows my mind) come back for more.
Think of any movie with a wisecracking action hero or heroine. Chances are you've thought of something with Harrison Ford, but maybe you came up with someone else. It's okay --it happens to the best of us. Maybe you'll come up with Harrison Ford next time. Anyway, what happens to Indiana Jones/Han Solo/some other character who did not come to my mind in these films? At some point, he is tied up and being beaten to a pulp by bad guys. Does he cry? No! Does he whimper? No! Does he spit out a few teeth, stare down his assailants, and make some off-color remark about the bad guys' mothers? Hell yeah!
That'd be what my colleagues do every day, but only a few of them have actually lost teeth in the process. They stare down difficult situations which occasionally descend into chaos and they chuckle. They're a great group of people. They're inspirational. And yes, they kick ass --metaphorically only, of course. They save the literal ass kicking for happy hour after work.
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