As another year begins and students resume, it is auspicious to stress that one major factor responsible for one’s success or failure in this life is attitude. In fact, attitude is everything and everything is about attitude.
Nothing is as good as positive mental attitude and nothing is as bad as negative mental attitude. Indeed, if one’s attitude is right, one’s world will be right. Conversely, a bad attitude is like a bad tire, no one can move forward except one changes it.
In their book, Success through a Positive Mental Attitude (1960), Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone retold the story of a preacher who was being disturbed by his little boy as he was racking his brain about what to tell his congregation the next day. To keep the boy busy, he picked an old magazine, tore a page with the world map, ripped it into little bits and threw the scraps all over the floor.
“Johnny, if you can put this all together, I’ll give you a quarter,” he told the boy, knowing that the task would take him most of the morning. However, in less than 10 minutes, Johnny was back with the completed puzzle.
The man was gobsmacked and flabbergasted!
“Son, how did you get that done so fast?” he asked.
“Oh,” said Johnny, “it was easy. On the other side there was a picture of a man. I just put a piece of paper on the bottom, put the picture of the man together, put a piece of paper on top and then turned it over. I figured that if I got the man right, the world would be right.”
The minister smiled and handed his son a quarter. “And you have given me my sermon for tomorrow too,” he said, “if a man is right, his world will be right,” the authors concluded.
A small and relevant truth once told in this regard is that if the English alphabet, A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z is respectively made to be equal to 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26, few words actually make 100%. For instance, H+A+R+D+W+O+R+K is 8+1+184+23+15+18+11 which is equal to 98% while K+N+O+W+L+E+D+G+E is 11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5, making a total of 96%. G+O+O+D+L+U+C+K is 7+15+15+4+12+21+3+11, the total of which is 88% and L+O+V+E is 12+15+21+5 is 53%.
Each of money, truth, leadership, among others, does not make 100%. As it is said that every problem has a solution if we have a change of attitude, it is our attitude to God, life and others that make life 100% successful: A+T+T+I+T+U+D+E= 1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 =100.
Without equivocation, success in school, at work and in life as a whole largely depends on attitude to God, what we do and people all of which reflect the three dimensions of religious life, academic/work life and social life. It is imperative to resolve to have a change of attitude as a way attaining a higher altitude this year.
For every student, for example, the attitude of gratitude to God is essential because it takes grace and hard work to be admitted to a university or college. This attitude of gratitude makes a good student conscious of his primary assignment on the surface of the earth without compromising his primary assignment in the university, his academics.
The academic life is powered by the attitude of fortitude which makes a student realise that studentship is not a tea party or an exercise in fun-making. This attitude makes a student remain a student to the letter by being serious, tenacious, understanding, disciplined, exemplary, natural and truthful. This is because a conscientious student realises that this is the most important stage of his or her life so far and the way campus life is spent has implications for the future. Both First Class and Pass graduates have the same number of years but their attitudes to their studies vary and they bear their classes of degree for life.
In other words, to attain the altitude of excellence, a student should prioritise character and learning by adhering to the following tips which make failure difficult: attend all lectures; do your assignments /tests; obey rules and regulations; avoid bad company; participate in group discussions; study in advance; have your personal time table; mind your business; and use your time judiciously.
Life on campus can be exciting and fulfilling, amazing and memorable IF there is the right attitude. The attitude of gratitude and fortitude without latitude will make one attain the altitude of success with certitude.
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