It is said that attitude is everything. It is also said that the greatest discovery mankind ever made was the realization that a man can conquer every situation and all circumstances he faces with his attitude. Some other words which can be taken as synonyms for the word ‘attitude’ are approach, stance, outlook or mind-set. It is indeed remarkable to know how great a part this attitude plays in a person’s life. Successful persons are usually the ones who have been able to maintain for themselves the right attitude, approach and mind-set in the situations and circumstances that came their way.
Joel Osteen pastors the now famous Lakewood church in Texas, USA. He is one of my favorite speakers. Many a times I hear him speak on matters related to attitude. In one of his speeches, he said that when a man with a negative attitude gets up in the morning with a heavy headache, he would start complaining and grumbling about the headache and would even be cursing the day. But, under the same circumstance, a man with a positive attitude would be grateful and giving thanks to God that he was at least able to get up from his bed despite the heavy headache.
Similarly, people or children with poor attitude may be complaining about the long distance that they have to cover on foot everyday to go to their working place or school. However, in such a similar circumstance, a person with a constructive attitude would be grateful for his strong legs that are able to walk such a long distance everyday. Thus, everything depends upon how a person perceives and accepts the situations and circumstances that he encounters. And yes, I have really seen people who just refuse to be offended no matter what the circumstances and no matter how bad others treat them
In the Old Testament, we find that David was sent to the battlefront carrying foods for his elder brothers who were at the battlefront fighting the Palestinians. When he reached the battle-site, David came to know about the giant Goliath who had been challenging the Israelites for days to fight with him. David was disgusted to know that none of the Israelite soldiers could muster the courage and confidence to fight this giant despite the known fact that the Israelites were considered as God’s chosen people.
David felt so because his attitude was different from those of his countrymen. Deep inside his heart, David knew that the Living God was still waiting to do miracles with his chosen people. The Israelites feared fighting the giant Goliath because of his big size. But for David, the big size of Goliath was an advantage because the big size of the giant would serve as a big target for him. The bigger the target the easier it would be for David to hit it (David was going to use his sling and stones in his fight with the giant). Therefore for David, Goliath was a big target which was impossible for him to miss. Thus, it was David’s attitude that helped him ultimately defeat the giant Goliath whom everybody feared.
In my Angami dialect (Tenyiedie) there is a proverb which goes ‘U ngumvümia sü u pecütsie zo’ which simply means our enemies are the ones who sharpen us. For a person who does not posses a positive attitude, this saying would have no meaning. But for a positive minded person, this saying holds much meaning. A positive minded person would consider himself lucky to be having so many enemies because this gives him the drive and the motive to disprove his enemies and to win under any circumstances so that the enemies would not have the last say and laugh. On the contrary, a negative minded person would be weighed down and he would be miserable in the midst of many enemies.
I also heard once an elderly person saying ‘supuonie khriesa chü badi u ngumvümia krenyü chüba tiemu’. This saying means being a young man, how can one give opportunities to his enemies to laugh at him. Like the previous saying, this one also has no meaning to a negative minded person. But for a person with a positive attitude, this saying can do wonders and can really inspire. I won’t deny that I have also been greatly inspired by this saying on many occasions. Young people with positive outlook can certainly not give opportunities to their enemies to laugh at them. As was rightly said by one Baltasar Gracian, “A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends”.
It has also been observed that people’s attitude and mind-set certainly change with the passage of time. Let me cite an example here. In the semi-final match of this year’s European cup, Italy surprising beat pre-tournament favorite Germany 2 – 1 to enter the final. In this match, both the goals for Italy were scored by Mario Balotelli who is of African origin and is totally black from head to toe. When Balotelli scored these two crucial goals, his teammates, who were all white Europeans, came and hugged him and refused to let him go. Now, this was a scene which was unimaginable in Europe and America some 50 to 60 years ago. This is so because during that time, black people were considered as inferior to the white people and were treated like animals. But now, the mind-set has set in that all men whether black or white are equal and are created by the same God.
Closer home in Nagaland also, this trend can be found. In the times of our forefathers (here in Kohima village), when a married woman was found to be involved in extra-marital affairs, her hairs were shaven and her nose was cut off from her face and she was chased away from her husband’s house. But thanks to the advent of Christianity in our beloved land, we no longer hold on to this kind of barbaric acts.
During my school years, one of the hottest and interesting topics amongst the elders was the Naga Independence issue. I would often come across many elders in deep discussion on this topic. The result being that many people of my generation actually grew up believing that the Nagas would become an independent nation before the year 2000 AD. However, as it appears now, the Naga independence issue is no longer as hot an issue it used to be in the past. Now, the discussion amongst the elders is mostly concentrated on things like their pension, post retirement programs and their plans and programs for their children. Most of the elders amongst the Nagas now really crave for their children to get a good, well-positioned and highly remunerative post in the government sector. As for the people of my generation and our juniors, we go about vigorously pursuing our lives’ ambitions under the Indian flag and the topic of Naga independence is seldom discussed amongst us. In other words, the Naga independence issue is no longer a very revered and deeply loved issue like the way it used to be in the past.
One of my church leaders in my church mentioned that during their prime years, they were so resentful of anything and anyone associated with India that they did not even want to study Hindi which was one of the subjects in their schools. They used to rejoice and celebrate if anyone of them scores zero in the Hindi subject in the examination. Similarly, whenever they witnessed any sporting event involving India and any other country, they would always wholeheartedly support the other nation. It was their biggest desire for the other nation (be it Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh or any other) to inflict a crushing defeat upon India. I believe this was what most Nagas felt and wanted in those times. But as of now, the majority of Nagas, if not almost all, would be supporting India when it is involved in any sporting event with any other nation. And I can also say that I know many Naga youngsters who are die-hard fans and supporters of the Indian cricket team.
Thus, there was a time when most Nagas were resentful of India. But now, many Nagas consider India as their own country and do not mind calling themselves Indian citizens. Many Nagas are also of the view that India is a country to which all Nagas should be grateful for the many things that it has done for the Naga people and Nagaland. When I see this, I say attitude sure does change with time and circumstances.
