Some virtues that can play a significant impact in your life can include hard work, respect, kindness honest, bold, generous, careful, decent, sincere and attitude etc. In assessing the impact of each of these virtues let’s do this simple mathematical analysis to find out which of these virtues when mapped numerically will give us exactly a hundred (100):
Let a=1, b=2, c=3, d=4, e=5, f=6 …………..x=24, y=25, z=26
Then hard work (h+a+r+d+w+o+r+k)=8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11=98
Then respect (r+e+s+p+e+c+t)= 18+5+19+16+5+3+20 = 85
Then kindness (k+i+n+d+n+e+s+s) = 11+9+14+4+14+5+19+19=95
Then honest (h+o+n+e+s+t) = 8+15+14+5+19+20 =71
Then attitude (a+t+t+i+t+u+d+e) = 1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100
So from the little mathematical analysis only the word “attitude” can give us exactly 100. This is significant and it tells us a lot of the relevance of the word. You can try this at home with several virtues you may know and you will get different answers – some less than 100 whilst some will give you more than 100. Only “attitude” will give you exactly hundred (100).
What is meant by the word “attitude”? Attitudes can be explained as evaluations people make about people, objects, ideas, or issues in general. It can be positive or negative, explicit (conscious beliefs) or implicit (unconscious beliefs) that can guide our decisions, actions and the way we behave. Attitudes can also be divided into three components namely cognitive, emotional and behavioural.
It must be emphasized that our attitudes do impact on our behaviour in a variety of situations. Our attitudes create the way we feel about people and reacts towards situations. What actions you portray are as a result of your attitude and this will ultimately create a reaction from others.
What is your attitude towards your personal life, your professional life, your academic life, your health life, your educational life and social life etc.?According to Weimer (2010) what students believe about themselves as learners makes a great difference especially when it comes to their reaction towards a new skill, a new unit, a new concept they are learning. Therefore, if you enroll in a new course of study and your attitude towards the course is negative, then it will directly impact on the enthusiasm you have towards learning it successfully. On the other hand, if you have a positive attitude towards the course of study, it will ginger and motivate you to learn it successfully and come out with the best of results.
Attitude is like a two-edged sword, your perception and inclination towards anything you do will ultimately bring out the results based on the sort of attitude you put into it. As the saying goes, “you can’t plant apple and expect to harvest strawberry”. Whatever attitude you put into any situation will ultimately be the catalyst that determines the outcome of the result.
Attitude has the greatest impact on a student’s performance towards success in an academic life. If you are a student and you enter the lecture room or classroom with a positive attitude ready and enthusiastic to play an active role in the learning process, then you will ultimately have the positive environment to be successful in your course or learning objectives. However, if you enter your classroom with a negative attitude towards the subject, towards the instructor, towards the college, then there is a 99.9% chance that you will ultimately fail in your course or learning objectives and even impact negatively on your fellow students or learners.
Studies have shown that, when there is a positive, conducive, congenial and convenient classroom environment when all students including the instructor (lecturer) is in a good mood or positive attitude. Let’s give a classic example – Imagine you are in Waterloo Station in a queue with over 100 people waiting to catch a train to Barking Station which has delayed for about 20 minutes. If one grouchy and loudly person begin to shout and complain about the longqueue and why the train has delayed canvassing for the train workers to be yelled at or mean to them, two things will occur – either you are affected or not affected by the action of the person.
If you are not affected, then it means that you have a positive attitude to remain calm, not yell at any train worker and wait patiently for the train to come. On the other hand, if you are affected, then it means you will also join the person to yell at the train workers and be mean to them until the train comes. Which of the attitudes do you prefer to belong to?
This same situation described above is what happens in our academic environment. You will encounter a lot of challenges in some particular units, modules and subjects. You will encounter some instructors and lecturers you may not immediately warm-up to or like them initially. Nevertheless, if your attitude towards these units, modules, subjects and lecturers is positive, then you are on your way to academic success. Why? Answer is simple – when you begin to be positive about any situation you encounter – there is a 99.9% probability that you will be successful.
At London School of Management Education (LSME) we know everyone is different. Our beliefs, values and attitudes can be different for each student on a daily basis. Therefore, we have put systems and processes in place to enable our cherished students to have a positive attitude and learn to get along with the differences and work together to help each other to achieve their academic pursuits. When students build positive attitudes towards their units, modules, and instructors (lecturers), they become engaged and are motivated to learn better and excel in the unit/module/subject they are engaged in because they value it, cherish it and enjoy it.
Here are seven (7) pointswe suggest will help you develop a positive attitude towards a successful academic work at London School of Management Education (LSME):
- Adopt positive beliefs of the courses you enroll on so that you can value the units/ subjects embedded in it. You can do this by asking your course coordinator to give you information about what the course entails and what are the progression and career pathways.
- Remember that your mindset is your own and you can decide to use it to have a positive attitude or negative attitude towards a situation. Your attitude controls your life but you can control your attitude so be positive towards your lecturers, the academic team, the courses etc.
- A positive and joyful attitude will yield positive and joyful results so put out one and you are on the journey to success. If you put a negative attitude, then you have already failed before your course commences.
- Every day when you wake up, sit down for at least 10 – 15 minutes to create positive thoughts either by reading them or listening to them through various media. If you need help on creating positive thoughts speak to the Principal, Dr. Sarita Parhi because she is a specialist when it comes to positive thinking and she will guide you to have a positive attitude towards everything in your personal and professional life.
- Associate yourself with people or classmates who think positively and can impact positively on your academic life. Ignore the “whiners” and “complainers” who do not see anything positive but rather see everything as negative. Some people don’t feel happy when you are happy, avoid them!
- Be mindful of what you say and speak. Speak positively about people, situations and be aware of how you choose to think before you speak because it will be useful and impact on your attitude. Though is a difficult task to do, do well to view everything and everyone in a positive way.
- Formulate personal and professional goals for yourself and if possible have your own personal mission statement. For e.g. “My name is Boris and I want to become a great human being who aspires to be honest, respectful and have a positive attitude towards all situations in life”
Another e.g. “My name is Mandeep and I want to lead a purposeful life supporting all people from walks of life both at workplace and in my neighbourhood where I live”
Wishing you the best of week but remember that your attitude can make or unmake you in your academic pursuits and your personal life. The good news is that you have the power to control your attitude and not the other way round.
Be aware of how you choose to think and speak at work. Find a positive way to view everything and everyone.
See you again with another thought-provoking article next week. Stay blessed!