"This is the first story of my new book: SHORT STORIES FOR SUCCESS FOR YOUNG READERS: A NEW LEXICON UNFOLDED. I believe this book could be ideal for children in the age group of 10-12, to read. I hope you enjoy reading it.
A for Attitude
“Your attitude,
not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.” – Zig Ziglar, American Motivation Speaker
“Now, let me help you understand why I am putting ‘Attitude’ in the front.” Thus began Kamala Teacher.
“Now, let me help you understand why I am putting ‘Attitude’ in the front.” Thus began Kamala Teacher.
“I want all of you to write all the 26 English alphabets one
after another in your notebook.”
All children wrote:
A
|
B
|
C
|
D
|
E
|
F
|
G
|
H
|
I
|
J
|
K
|
L
|
M
|
N
|
O
|
P
|
Q
|
R
|
S
|
T
|
U
|
V
|
W
|
X
|
Y
|
Z
|
“Right! Now assign number 1 below the alphabet A, then the number
2 below B, 3 below C and so on till you reach twenty six below Z.”
The children followed carefully:
A
1 |
B
2 |
C
3 |
D
4 |
E
5 |
F
6 |
G
7 |
H
8 |
I
9 |
J
10
|
K
11
|
L
12
|
M
13
|
N
14
|
O
15
|
P
16
|
Q
17
|
R
18
|
S
19
|
T
20
|
U
21
|
V
22
|
W
23
|
X
24
|
Y
25
|
Z
26
|
“Now, let us look at some of the words that describe
qualities that bring success. Let us take ‘Effort.’”
“Can you write the word ‘EFFORT’
on your notebook? Finished…Now assign the numbers from this table against each letter
of this word and total it up.”
Everyone was doing the arithmetic.
EFFORT5+6+6+15+18+20 = 70
The children wondered what she was trying to convey.
“Now let us try the word ‘HARD WORK’.”
The children tried.
HARD WORK8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98
She asked them to try
other words too.
SKILL came to 61; Luck came to 45; KNOWLEDGE CAME TO 96
“Now try the word ‘ATTITUDE’.”
The children wrote carefully: ATTITUDE
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5
= 100
“You see! English language seems to convey that among many traits
that bring success, the word ATTITUDE
alone represents hundred percent results. Does it look strange? Yes, ATTITUDE
is the key to success. It is not your strength, not your skill, not your
knowledge, not hard work, not money, not power, not skill, not luck, not
anything else. Of course, they all help. But, it is one’s attitude that makes
the difference, more than anything else. Your attitude is everything.
History is full of people who succeeded or failed because of their
attitude.”
“Can you recall one of the most elementary stories you might
have heard to show how attitude made the difference between success and failure?”
Kamala teacher stared at the class silently.
There was spellbound silence in the class. The children were
looking at all sides with curiosity and doubt.
“Come on. Think about it,” encouraged Kamala teacher.
“The story of The Hare and Tortoise!” One student in the last
row shouted from behind.
“Excellent! Brinda, can you come forward to my side and tell
the story to everyone so that they can recollect?”
Brinda, the usually shy child from the last row, hesitantly
came forward. She initially struggled for words. Encouraged and prompted by
Kamala teacher, Brinda presented the story of The Hare and Tortoise. When finished,
Kamala teacher retold the same story and the entire class listened with rapt
attention.
“One day a rabbit boasted about how fast he could run and
teased the turtle for being slow. Much to the rabbit’s surprise, the turtle
decided to challenge the rabbit. They agreed to a race, as rabbit was
over-confident about winning. The race began and the rabbit raced forward at
great speed way ahead of the turtle. Halfway through the race, rabbit couldn’t
see the turtle anywhere. He thought, ‘After all, the turtle should be crawling
slowly and can never beat me in the race. Why not I have a small nap in the
meantime? Even if the turtle passed me, I could always catch up and finish
ahead of it.’ The rabbit went to sleep. In the meantime, the turtle was slow
and steady, stayed confident, moved ahead step by step and wouldn’t quit, no
matter what happened. The rabbit was complacent and slept longer than he had
thought. When he woke up, the turtle was still nowhere. He leaped forward in
great hurry towards the final point only to notice that the turtle had already
reached there and waiting for him. Thus, the slow turtle won the race against
the rabbit purely out of his attitude to win and the rabbit lost because of his
complacency and over-confidence.
Complacency is a matter of one’s attitude.”
≡≡::≡≡
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