Positive Attitude Winston Churchill said “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” By Prof Pratibha Saraswat, SICA College, Indore

 Positive Attitude 

Winston Churchill said “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”

Positive attitude is a very important thing that we all musthave. It is just not about smiling or joking around. That is onlythe surface. The real positive attitude is a way of life, a part of our personality. Our approach to life from a positive point of view can reap us many benefits. We learn throughout the life but our knowledge and experience that we gain in our youth determines the direction of our lives. As a student you should not fear and experiment to find new vistas and fields. Life is a mix of everything good and bad. So you should be prepared for both the aspects.

Failure is something that everyone encounters at one time or the other in his/ her life. We cannot stop moving in life because of the fear of failure. The true approach would be to learn from the failures and be wise after learning from it.Thomas Edison once said,” "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." This is the power of positive attitude. If he had stopped early, he wouldn’t have tasted the fruits of success. The ship that never sails because of fear of braving strong winds and storms would never know the joysof travelling and be of no use. It would just stand still and rot.

There are many people who have changed their lives by staying focused, following their instincts and positive attitude.Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper as he was not being very creative according to them. Later, his Mickey Mouse cartoons were also rejected. But Walt Disney wrote a success story by establishing Disney Company. He didn’t chose to listen to other people but believed in himself.  J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter was rejected twelve times by the publishers. Seven sequels later, the Harry Potter series had sold 450 million copies in 78 languages worldwide and had generated eight blockbuster film adaptations. This was the same Rowling who was earlier unemployed, a single mother and in severe depression and contemplated suicide many times.Michael Jordan, the greatest Basketball player of all time was heartbroken when he was ousted from his high school Basketball team. But he didn’t choose to bow down to failure and with a positive attitude he worked harder and harder. He said, “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” This gives us a very important lesson not to be disheartened by failures but make a ladder of them to take to greater heights. Those who are able to look at positive aspects of situations can do wonders in their lives. 

Failure and success are natural parts of your personal and professional life. You must try to assess and search how far you can move to change failure into success. You should find out and recognize the impact success and failure can have on you. As you mature in life and your career, it's likely your personal definitions of success and failure change. Depending on your goals and career aspirations, you might experience both failure and success. Everyone has different parameters of success and failures.

Failure may feel uncomfortable or seem like a personal or professional setback.  But if we look at the other side of the coin, it actually can help you succeed through growth and opportunities. The most important option will be to rediscover yourself and start again. An important mantra would be to enhance your knowledge and expertise and make continuous attempts towards achievement of the goal with positive mind set. These lines from Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson are very pervasive: “I cannot rest from travel: I will drink life to the lees.” Life is a continuous voyage that should be lived and enjoyed. Look at the brighter side and pave your way towards success by learning and enhancing your knowledge. I will close with the famous lines by Walt Whitman:

“Keep your face always toward the sunshine- and shadows will fall behind you.”