Thinking positively

Dear Lloyd,

I am about to graduate this March. I am somehow pessimistic to land in a job of my choice. I’m afraid that I won’t be able to practice what I’ve learned from school. I’m thinking of working in abroad but I don’t know how to do it. Please share some thoughts about this.

Thank you so much and more power to your column!

Raisalyn Indrinal
Quezon City


IF there is one thing that brings people to higher altitude, I believe that it’s not aptitude; it’s attitude. Try looking at your altitude now. Is it high or low? Now check your attitude. Is it an attitude of a winner or a loser?

Be optimistic. Believing makes half of the possibility. Trust that something good will still happen. Try to meet some people who may help you. Help other people to get what they want. In return, you’ll get want you want.

Stay away from people who are afraid of being overtaken by somebody else. They become so self-centered that they don’t see the good—or pretend not so see the good—in others. They pull other people down and see it as an opportunity for them to get a step higher. They take advantage and make use of other people for their benefit and motives.

I haven’t met a successful person who has this kind of attitude yet. And I don’t think practicing this kind of attitude would bring anyone to a higher altitude. It simply won’t make a person any better.

I always believe that life is not and will never be a competition. But on the same token, I say that there is a competition in it. And there comes the problem: You don’t identify your competitor correctly. You look around you and presume that the one beside you is your competitor. You don’t look within you and at least consider that maybe, you need to compete with yourself first.

Fear paralyzes people to become successful. And in order to win competition in life, you need to conquer that fear—fear to change, fear to risk, fear to fail—that only you can beat. No one will do it for you.

I don’t think negatively. Though I always protect the downside and let the upside take care of itself. I steadily think positively and see the positive in the worst situation. For me, there is always an opportunity in every crisis. I don’t usually recommend books. But if you really wanted to understand me in details, I would advise you to get The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale. You’ll learn how faith cancels the paralysis caused by fear.

Negativity for me is a figure of fear. When you think negatively, you automatically lose. Or at least lose the 80 percent of the battle. No doubt, the Philippines has insignificantly developed over the years.

Millions of people think negatively and act negatively. The newspapers report negatively. The television and radio broadcast negatively. The internet shows online information negatively.

And so the people, the recipient of this information feel negatively that eventually make them react negatively. In fact you can see them very frequently on the streets. They call themselves “patriotic.” Admit it or not, this is already a culture (and legacy) that the old is leaving our children. And this is not good. When our students graduate, they feel and think negatively about their future job. They even fear applying for high ranking positions. They are afraid to be rejected. They play safe. Sometimes, they are not even confident to win interviews.

And so sooner or later, they react negatively blaming the government and other blamable things or situations that exist because they have no job. Or, even if they do get one, they don’t earn much—below the minimum wage.

Proper attitude is never a talent or skill. It is a discipline. You need to work on it constantly. You need to watch for it and let it grow with you. Because at the end of the day, no matter how good, talented, skilled and effective you are, if you don’t keep a good grip on your attitude, two things happen: You fail and you fall.

Leave the country if you’ll have the chance. But be sure you’ll get back. After you have seen the outside world, you’ll realize that the Filipinos are the best in the world. This, for me, is something that we must always be proud of.


Buddy to the top,

Lloyd Luna