How we view the world and interpret the events or the actions of the people around us is our attitude and it plays a pivotal role in determining what happens to us in life. A fearful attitude skews one towards negativity and prevents one from taking a stab at anything meaningful. On the other hand, a suspicious or hostile attitude draws people away from us hence we run the risk of self-sabotaging our chances as a result thereof. Be that as it may, all is not lost. The human attitude is as malleable as clay. Therefore, should the need arise and in a situation whereby a need intersects with a willing heart, a positive change of attitude will help move mountains much to the chagrin of worrywarts hell-bent on hindering progress.
When I was as old as my life path number most certainly in the single digits since I don’t have a master number, my mother and I headed out to get some water one afternoon. We were running short of time since she had to go back to work and the builders at the construction site were solely in need of water. The small tank was loaded onto the back of the pick-up truck and off we went. A series of unfortunate events tend to occur when you neither have money nor time. No sooner had we filled the tank at the nearby river than the back wheel of the vehicle slipped into the water forcing the entire unit in as well.
In as much as the river was shallow, there were two issues that we had to contend with. The river bank was deep hence heading back the same way was off the question and a bridge was non-existent. Well there was something that resembled one anyway but would crumble under the load and lead us back to the same point. Through it all, my mother did not panic one bit but I was beside myself and felt the end was neigh. In the final analysis, her positive attitude saved the day though an extra thirty or so kilometers was added to the trip back home since we got off the other end and drove through town and back. It definitely cost more in fuel and time was lost in the process. However, coming out unscathed was the icing on the cake. I couldn’t help but laugh thereafter even though in the heat of the moment there was nothing to laugh about.
Many decades later while in Campus, I encountered a Computer Programming Professor who altered my perspective and attitude towards life in general. At the onset of the course unit, he gave us quite some tough and challenging assignments. Many students were ready to throw in the towel because there were no two ways about it, one would either get one hundred or zero depending on whether or not the code worked as envisaged. Leaving the class before finishing a task was forbidden and this increased the blood pressure to unsustainable levels. The mere thought of attending the class would make many a student cringe in fear. When he noticed the overall lackluster performance, he toned down his approach and told us that a computer is not smart, it just does what it’s programmed to do. When it dawned on me that this was actually the case, I took on a positive approach and the rest is history.
As we got to the tail end of the unit, the overall class performance had drastically improved to the astonishment of the Professor who had all the right in the world to claim the bragging rights. On the last day of class prior to the final exam, he gave us a timed task and walked out. Towards the end of the session he came back, checked everyone’s code and remarked to the effect that all students had passed. He proceeded to narrate to us a personal story. His father had passed on when he was a College student and the burial was slated for the same day as the final exam of a course unit he had taken. His Professor denied him an opportunity to attend his Father’s burial owing to an exam. He was bitter about it but swore not to let anyone else go through the same predicament. A missed exam will not relegate one to failure and neither does compliance guarantee success in life. He concluded by stating he saw no need of giving us a final exam. Everyone aced the subject and we walked out grinning from ear to ear having learnt a thing or two.
The right attitude can among other things enable one to create opportunities out of nothing. A writer tends to do this more often than not. A blank page can morph into one filled with paragraphs that culminate into a book. Many a times we do stare at a blank page with random thoughts and plenty of words to play around with. It’s quite commonplace to start off with a destination in mind with no clear path or possible means but word by word, things begin to take shape and fall into place. Attitude is the spark that sets the engine in motion so to speak and a person who has the admirable trait of generating something from scratch is a gem. This transcends the boundaries of writing and is applicable to any other field besides writing. Anyone with a negative attitude will more than likely shut off when they are confounded with a messy situation in which making heads or tails of the issue is a tall order.
There tends to be some congruence between one’s written and spoken communication. Someone I worked with at a past engagement had a penchant for using abrasive language while communicating through email. Prior to meeting them for the first time, I had hope against hope that the congruence would not be applicable in this case. Lo and behold, our first chance encounter confirmed my worst fear. We had quite an unpleasant conversation that was peppered with negative energy. It seemed like a fight. My first impulse was to react in like kind but I didn’t want the negative energy to rub off on me and so I opted to lie low like an envelope, nodded in agreement so that I get to spend the least amount of time in her presence. One can only put up with negativity for so long. The weight of a glass of water varies with the amount of time it’s in your hands. Carrying it for a minute is less burdensome than carrying it for a week. A week will make your hands sore and you will let go of it at the worst opportune moment. The same goes with negativity.
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