Keeping a Good Attitude

Many years ago, famous psychologist, William James said: “The greatest discovery of my generation is that people can alter their lives by altering the attitude of their mind.”

When things go wrong in our lives, there is always the tendency to go wrong with them, but when we choose to remain positive and keep making efforts toward achieving positive results, we will end up achieving amazing results!

One soccer match Nigerian soccer fans cannot forget in a hurry is the 1989 Junior World Cup semi-final match between Nigeria’s junior national team and its Russian counterpart, the USSR junior national team.

Seventy minutes of play, Nigeria had already conceded four goals! Everybody had lost hope that Nigeria would advance to the final of the competition. At Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, venue of the match, spectators had gradually started leaving the stadium. Here in Nigeria, especially in my own locality, we were already bemoaning our loss.

We concluded it was all over for Nigeria, but what kept us glued to our TV set was the manner Nigerian team was prosecuting the match. The played as if they were not four goals down. As usual, they were very much in high spirit. They had much of the ball control, but the goals were not forthcoming. They had excellent teamwork and they held their head high. They were ready to lose gallantly, so I thought.

But when it was eighteen minutes to the end of the ninety minutes regulation time, the goals they had labored for seventy-two minutes to score started coming. They came in quick succession until they cancelled the four goals deficit!

After thirty minutes of extra time to decide the winner, Nigeria won through penalty shoot-out! It was celebration galore at the end of the day.

What lesson can we learn from the victorious Nigerian soccer team? There are some vital lessons we can learn from here which we can use to achieve great success in our own lives. Among these lessons are:

1.   When the Game is Contrary, Play On

In life as in the game of soccer, attitude is more important than any unpleasant situation you are undergoing. The negative circumstances we undergo are not the reason we keep losing in life. The reason we lose in the game of life is the way we react when the game is contrary. Our defeat or victory is anchored on our attitude.

Epictetus said, “Men are not disturbed by things but by the view they take of things.” The Nigerian soccer players exhibited their skills and competence to the best of their ability. It was obvious, they were the better side, but strangely, the goals were not coming. Rather than scoring goals, they conceded four.

Ordinarily, having conceded four goals, one would think it would weaken their morale. Of course, one cannot lose sight of the sadness and pain they feel inside, conceding four goals in a match.

It was not that they were not conscious of the ninety minutes regulation time. They were. They were doing the best they could, yet, instead of reducing the tally, or leveling up the score, they conceded four goals after about seventy-two minutes.

In a crucial match of this nature, after going down four goals, it is not easy to reduce the tally, level up and go on to win. They had only eighteen minutes left of play.

Looking at the situation, it was obvious they were not sure they could level up or go on to win, but they were determined to fight on till the final blast of the whistle.

They turned the heat against their opponent, reducing them to a defensive-minded team. When the heat became too much, the goals started coming. The rest is history.

But dear reader, the vital lesson to note here is that your attitude is fundamental to your success in life. It is not the present circumstances that determine your destiny; it is YOU.

The lesson here is: when you are losing when you should be winning and when you are trying the best you can and the situation is still getting worse, don’t quit. Maintain your poise and play on. AS LONG AS THE GAME CONTINUES, YOU STILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY OF PUTTING EVERYTHING RIGHT.

When there is life, there is hope. Never give up, never despair. Keep fighting. You will emerge victorious, if you don’t give up.

2.   When Others Lose Hope, Keep Your Head 

When you lose hope in life, you have lost everything. HOPE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KEEP FIGHTING AND PROGRESSING. Do not allow the present unpleasant situation to dampen your spirit.

Keep your head high and maintain a positive mindset. You need to realize that success lies at the other side of defeat. Just when you think it is all over, success is closer to you. That is why you must not give up when others have given up. YOU CAN WIN EVEN WHEN OTHERS HAVE WRITTEN YOU OFF; BUT YOU CAN’T WIN WHEN YOU LOSE HOPE IN LIFE.

So, when others lose hope, keep hope alive. “When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, there is lifting up” (Job 22:29).

3.   Wear Out Your Opposition

When you start to mourn and display signs of defeat, your opponent will capitalize on them to finish you. The secret of wearing out your opponent is to keep your spirit high even when the game is going contrary to your expectation.

Don’t catch cold, get up and fight. Turn the hit against your opponent. TO BE THE HIT, YOU MUST FEEL THE HEAT. That HEAT is the homerun or the onslaught you launch against your opponent to finally defeat him.

Wear your opponent out by refusing to show signs of defeat. Fight to the last. Give your opponent a good fight so that at the end of the day, he will live to remember your great championship fight.

Finally, I leave you with the advice of Joel Osteen: “If you want to give your enemy a nervous breakdown, learn to keep a good attitude even when the bottom falls out. Learn to be happy even when things don’t go your way.”

This is the secret of victorious living. Learn to keep a good attitude. By so doing, you will come across the opportunities for putting everything right and then you will celebrate your victory!