Tough times don’t last; tough people do

By Sumit Paul

Our attitude decides how far we can go. With a positive attitude, one can succeed in life; with a negative attitude, one will fail to achieve the desired level of success. When there’s hope, Lady Luck smiles upon you. A negative attitude fosters hopelessness; Arjun’s winning attitude made him the most successful warrior in Kurukshetra, with the support of Krishn.

Duryodhan picked up quarrels, and that led to Mahabharat. Remember, the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, not our circumstances. Urdu poet-lyricist Nida Fazli said, “Duniya na jeet pao toh haro na aap ko/Thodi bahut toh zehan mein naarazgi rahe” – if you cannot win the world, at least, don’t lose yourself/Let there be a semblance of spirit and exasperation.

Looking at every exit as being an entrance somewhere else is what we call a ‘positive’ attitude. When you take control of your attitude, you take control of your life. “Tough times don’t last, tough people do,” is often attributed to Hollywood great Gregory Peck. In short, no guts, no story .

A positive attitude is gratitude to the universe; a negative attitude is the denial of the cosmos’ benevolence. Appreciate what you have been given, and you will be promoted. Focus on an ocean of positives, not a puddle of negatives. Keep your face always towards the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you.

Adolf Hitler’s flawed attitude caused the Second World War and his own downfall. All-rounder Kapil Dev Nikhanj’s positively philosophical attitude in the Final of the Prudential World Cup (1983) against the redoubtable West Indies – ‘we had nothing to lose, only to gain’ – helped the underdog Indian team defeat Clive Lloyd’s seemingly invincible West Indies team.

The legendary pugilist Cassius Clay, aka Muhammad Ali, had an attitude that he would never bow before a white because the latter’s pejorative attitude towards blacks spurred him on to become God of boxing. It was Ali who said, “To be a great champion, you must believe you are the best. If you’re not, pretend you are.” Battles,wars, and matches are won or lost depending on attitudes of individuals involved.
Belligerent attitudes of a few heads of state have spawned wars, violence and depredation in many parts of the world. Mankind is teeming with inspiring and uninspiring experiences and episodes related to a person, country, or community’s individual or collective attitude. If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden, and if you look the wrong way, the world is a desert. We say in Hindi, jaisi drishti, vaisi srishti – the world is how you perceive it.

A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart. The most important thing you’ll ever wear is your attitude. Attitude , a word we use so casually today, springs from the Latin aptitudo –a state of fitness, of being naturally aligned – born from aptus , meaning ‘fit’ or ‘suited’. In Italian, attitudine suggests the posture one assumes before the world. Be always in the thick of action. Never quit or give up because age wrinkles the body, quitting wrinkles the soul. Develop a positive attitude because that’s certitude.

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