Message from President
Dear friends,
Once Paul wanted to take his friend for a ride in his airplane. They sat in the cockpit. Paul completed his instrument checks. As the plane lifted off. The friend noticed that nose was higher than rest of the plane. Paul continually watched the instrument panel while friend was enjoying the sight of countryside. He asked “You keep looking at that one instrument more than the others, what is it?”
“That is the attitude indicator”.
“How can a plane have an attitude?”
“In flying, the attitude of the airplane is what we call the position of the aircraft in relation to the horizon.”
“When the airplane is climbing,” he said, “it has a nose-high attitude because the nose of the airplane is pointed above the horizon.”
“When the aircraft is diving, you would call that a nose- down attitude.”
“Pilots are concerned about attitude of the airplane because that indicates its performance.”
“Since the performance of the airplane depends on its attitude, it is necessary to change the attitude in order to change the performance.”
He demonstrated this by bringing the aircraft into a nose-high attitude. Sure enough, the plane began to climb and speed decreased. He changed the attitude and that changed the performance.
Doesn’t an individual’s attitude dictate his performance? Does he have an “attitude indicator” that continually evaluates his perspective and achievements in life?
What happens when the attitude is dictating undesirable results? How can the attitude be changed? And, if the attitude changes, what are the ramifications to other people around him?
The attitude is the inward feeling expressed by behavior. Soon what is happening within us will affect what is happening without. When the attitude is positive and conducive to growth, the mind expands and the progress begins.
Parents are called to school for parents- teacher meeting. Ayush, a fifth grader, has failing grades and is causing a disturbance among his clam mates. His aptitude tests show he is intellectually capable, yet he is failing miserably. The teacher suggest he has a “bad attitude”.
The high school basketball team was not having a good season. One day the coach had team meeting. Every player was quiet and listening. The coach continually stressed the relationship between the team’s attitude and the win- loss record. His words echoed “Fellows, your abilities say ‘win’. But your attitudes say ‘lose’.”
Hardly a day passes without the word ‘attitude’ entering a conversation. It may he used as complaint or compliment.
For instance, there’s the story of two shoe salesmen who were sent to an island to sell shoes. The first salesman, upon arrival, was shocked to realize that no one wore shoes. Immediately he sent a telegram to him home office in Chicago saying, “Will return home tomorrow. No one wears shoes.”
The second salesman was thrilled by the same realization. Immediately he wired the home office in Chicago saying, “Please send me 10,000 shoes. Everyone here needs them.”
“What is the difference between an obstacle and an opportunity? Our attitude towards it. Every opportunity has a difficulty and every difficulty has an opportunity.”
When confronted with a difficult situation, a person with an outstanding attitude makes the best of it while he gets the worst of it. “No society has ever developed tough men during times of peace.” Adversity is prosperity to those who possess a great attitude.
Dear children,
The germ of the seed has to struggle to push its way up through the stones and hard sod of terrible troubles to fight its way up to sunlight and air and then to wrestle with the storm discovering its tremendous power to form the timber tougher and stronger. You are called to emerge in the furnace of crises with potential that no one can match.
God bless you
Sr. Lissy Augustine
President
Nirmal Jyoti Society
