You are what you think

Post 4 Attitude is everything

Your attitude reflects your way of thinking and you are what you think. Positive thinking brings about much achievement in life because attitude is everything. Why do people think differently? Their exposure and past experiences in life and how they have been nurtured to react to them affect their thinking. Generally speaking, students from good social-economic background have better chances of furthering their tertiary education at universities and colleges. From young they have been imperceptibly influenced by what they constantly see and hear from successful professionals. To them much of the learning in life is caught, not taught.

Students from the lower strata of society are handicapped financially and have less opportunity to be exposed to such situation for inspiration. They may also have to help out their parents by working part-time, at the expense of spending more time studying. However, they too can be high achievers if they possess a positive attitude towards life because attitude can initiate changes.

Attitude can be nurtured and acquired. For example, if learning the English language has been a happy experience, you will then associate that subject with happiness and success thereby making learning it an enjoyable one. This will spur you on to walk the extra mile in mastering the language.

However, if you do not like to learn the English language, you will have to remove the causes of your dislike. You may not like to speak in English for fear of being ridiculed by your friends; you may not like spelling because it is difficult; or you simply cannot differentiate between past and present tenses. In order to remove the obstacles, you can seek the help of your teacher in the learning of phonetic symbols for English. This is important in guiding you on the link between sound and spelling. You can also read widely to improve your grammar and knowledge. Listen to news and make use of the state-of-the-art digital learning aids like DVDs to improve your language skills. Practice makes perfect. Have a positive attitude in the learning of other school subjects too and you will realise that much can be achieved.

The education of mind, body, and aesthetic sense are the basis for a harmonious education. Your life has need of harmony and rhythm. Bookworms miss out on the joy offered by music, art and outdoor activities like running, jumping, mountain-climbing, swimming, and playing games. There are scholars who are musicians, singers, sportsmen, footballers, basketball players, tennis players, badminton players, swimmers, or artists. It is their attitude in life which enables them to stand tall among their peers and enjoy life. You too can be like one of them. A glass of water can be half-full or half-empty depending on how you look at it. If you are optimistic and positive in your attitude, you will look at the brighter side of life.

There is a Chinese fable, The Frog in the Well, which tells of a frog who lived at the bottom of a well. He thought the well was the world until a sea turtle told him about the vast ocean. The turtle described the immensity of the sea to the frog: there were floods nine years out of ten, yet the sea water never swelled much; there were droughts seven years out of eight, yet the sea never grew much less. No floods were great enough nor droughts severe enough to affect the sea. Life in the sea was really marvellous!

The frog could only stare at the turtle, dazed and in amazement. He must have widened his outlook in life and changed his way of thinking after listening to the turtle.

Your attitude will change when you widen your horizons in life.


28 July 2009