The Essence Of Attitude

I would like to share a write-up from my son, Shantanu who is preparing for his SAT exams coming up in January 2006. Appreciate your inputs!
***************************
As Winston Churchill once stated, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”

In deciding to become a better person, people of the world today look towards attitude as a deciding factor. A change in attitudes of mind can definitely change a person’s life. Although these changes can be good or bad, change taken willingly is always good. History and sports have shown that attitude is the determining role of a person’s life in a positive way.

To start off, Mahatma Gandhi’s attitude towards non-violence played a laudable role towards India’s independence from the Britain. During the 1940’s, many Indians were fighting for independence from the British because they felt they were being put through many oppressive conditions. Many battles had been fought to find a solution to this enigmatic problem. Many men were killed and still no solution had been brought forth. Rather than resolving this problem with bloodshed, Gandhi brought forth a new “attitude”, boycotting. Gandhi and his crew established a strong system where they wouldn’t buy anything sold by the British men. Instead, he persuaded the Indian people to make their own clothing and other necessary needs. This totally paralyzed the British people and therefore forcing them to leave due to an economic fiasco. Gandhi gave his country freedom without firing a single bullet. His new innovative attitude made millions of Indian civilians happy. He is known and looked upon by many people around the world for his non-violent attitude. Gandhi’s attitude definitely set him apart from the rest of the society and it’s what’s made him famous till today.

Finally, the Detroit Pistons attitude gave them the victory over the Lakes in the 2004 NBA Finals. When the Pistons had finally made it to the NBA Finals after 13 years, criticism and disapproval flew their way. Many sports analysts reported this as a fluke, and therefore the Pistons lost respect from many basketball fans nationwide. Although, all this criticism brought down their morale, the Pistons kept an optimistic attitude and played together as a team. Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace stated, “Championships are won by teams, not superstars.” Each player’s attitude was entirely focused on the game. Each one put behind them the rest of the world, and changed their attitude to a confident one. They proved the whole nation wrong by blowing out their adversary. Pistons also taught the nation that a superstar is not needed on a team to win, but instead, the chemistry and attitude of playing as a team. This once a world champion basketball team will always be remembered for their confident and positive attitude that they brought on the court that day.

All in all we can clearly see that attitude is a trait that isolates everyone in this integrated world. As shown above, Gandhi’s non-violent acts and the Pistons positive attitude will be remembered forever. Attitude was definitely the determining factor in their lives.
The question is, how will you be remembered?