Changing Attitude, Changing Life

Changing Attitude, Changing Life

A few days back, I read a good article from my sister’s laptop on attitude and what really captured my attention was a quotation from Viktor E. Frankl. Viktor was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who spent two-and-a-half-year period in concentration camp.

Through his personal experience in the concentration camp, he shared that what determined the sort of person the inmate would become ultimately was an inner decision and not the influenced of the camp alone. He said,

“We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

This quotation comes at the most fascinating hour. I was just reading Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables and in the book, there were a few passages that questioned, “could the environment and the things that happened to a person eventually change the person’s soul from good to bad and vice versa?” I couldn’t reconcile with that.

I couldn’t have agreed more with Viktor Frankl. I believe that even in the most difficult time, even when one is deprived of life, liberty, or property from an external force, one’s freedom to choose one’s attitude cannot be taken away from one. In so to speak, it is important that we guard our attitudes at all time especially during tough times.

One cannot always control every situation and thing that happens or how they happen. However, one can always control one’s attitude toward every situation and thing after they happened to one. That alone is a most enlightening thought but yet rarely put to use by many. How would one’s life be if one can look at every situation with an attitude that one can make it work or make it better? One’s life would definitely not be the same again!

“I cannot always control what goes on outside. But I can always control what goes on inside.” — Wayne Dyer


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8 thoughts on “Changing Attitude, Changing Life

  1. Sherxr

    Hi!
    It’s true how a change of attitude can change a lot of things in one’s life.
    Especially in one’s job.
    I used to think that I couldn’t be a good sales person. Being too shy to approach strangers when I was younger, I missed out a lot of opportunities.
    When I finally left Singapore, I had to learn to do things on my own without much help. I made friends with strangers. And I actually found that I’m really good at waitressing!
    Thereafter, I took up job as a salesperson in Singapore. It is far more rewarding experience than getting stuck in the office with minimal human interaction!
    This change in attitude changed my life for the better and improved my self confidence.
    Don’t just talk. Go ahead and change!

    Sherxrs last blog post..Weight loss and Fruits

  2. Symphony of Love Post author

    Sher, you are right, “Don’t just talk. Go ahead and change!” As what Nike said, “Just Do It! And what Sir Richare Branson said, “Screw it. Let’s do it.

    Frankly speaking, knowing you in person, you can communicate well with people and thus I am quite surprised to read that you did not think you could be a good sales person. Glad that you have discovered another strength in you 🙂

  3. ssgreylord

    I cannot always control what goes on outside. But I can always control what goes on inside.” — Wayne Dyer

    What a fabulous quote to capture what you have to say throughout the post. I really enjoy your writing style and appreciate the sentiment as well.

  4. Symphony of Love Post author

    @ ssgreylord, thank you for your kind comment. There is so much wisdom that we can pick from quotation. And a lot of times, I find it is better and put more weight to my thought through quotation; through the words and wisdom of others. 🙂

  5. Christine

    Is the glass half full? Or half empty?
    It’s all a matter of PERSPECTIVE.

    CREATING A POSITIVE ATTITUDE TO ACHIEVE POSITIVE RESULTS
    Your attitude determines the state of world you live in.
    It is the foundation for every success and every failure you have had and will have. Your attitude will make or break you.
    Attitude creates the way you feel about people and situations. Your actions are a result of your attitude, which, in turn, creates a reaction from others.

    So, basically, what you think…you get.

    It is your attitude toward others and the Universe that determines the resultant attitude toward you.

    Integrate a positive, joyful attitude and you’ll have positive, joyful results. Put out a bad, negative attitude and you’ve failed before you begin.
    I know it sounds simple, but the truth is… it is simple!

    Brilliant Post!

    Cheers!
    Christine 🙂

    Christines last blog post..Attitude is all about CHOICE!

  6. Symphony of Love Post author

    @ Christine, I couldn’t have said it better. Your reply reminds me of a book, ‘As a Man Thinketh.’ Indeed, we are what we thought we are. I remember a quotation from the book, ‘Think and Grow Rich,’ that goes something like this, “Whatever the mind can conceive, it can achieve.