A colleague of mine was beaming with pride as his daughter pursued a technology degree in college. However, it was not long before he realized she was struggling with Mathematics, a crucial subject for her success. Determined not to let this hurdle hold her back, he swiftly arranged a private tutor for her.
After several weeks of private tutoring, there was little to no improvement. The girl continued to stumble over the same mistakes, showing no real spark of interest in the subject. Then one day, while reviewing her work, the tutor made a startling discovery. Flipping to the back of her exercise book, he found a bold confession scribbled in frustration: “I have Mathematics.” In that moment, everything became clear – her struggle was not just with numbers; it was with her mindset.
The poor girl had an attitudinal problem. Many people do.
You cannot prevail in Mathematics, or indeed in any other field, unless you are convinced within yourself that you have what it takes for you to be successful. By hating any subject you distance yourself from it, and no amount of external help will inch you towards success in that field. The Bible puts it this way: “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23: 7)”. It has often been stated that the sky is the limit, but let me proclaim it that it is one’s mind that is the limit. If you think big, you will achieve big. If you think you cannot do it, you simply will not do it.
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy made a bold declaration that startled the world: “Within a decade, America will land a man on the moon and bring him safely back to Earth” (or words to that effect). Did he know how this monumental feat would be achieved? No. Did he know which astronaut would accomplish it? Not all. Did he have any clue what kind of technology would make this dream a reality? He did not. What Kennedy had was an unshakable belief that, despite never having attempted anything so audacious before, the incredible minds and agencies in his country would make it happen. His vision was fueled by faith in what could be, not by any certainty of how it would come to pass.
We need to believe in our abilities to do things. This is not to say we should just wake up one morning and say, “I will accomplish such and such” without adequately preparing for it.
In 1963, John Kennedy was assassinated but his dream was already owned by NASA. Prior to the death of the President, he visited the NASA complex where he met many enthusiastic men and women working there. On the ground floor, he met a man who was a janitor. The president asked him, “What do you do here?” With a grin that stretched from ear to ear, the man, a sweeper, said to his President, “I am helping to put man on the Moon.”
In July of 1969, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin (popularly known as Buzz Aldrin) made the historic landing on the lunar surface. A third man, Michael Collins, who usually gets little credit and is consequently almost completely forgotten, stayed in the command module (the vehicle that kept orbiting the Moon) as Neil and Buzz descended onto the surface of the moon aboard the lunar module.
There is not a tiny chance that this would have been possible if John Kennedy had not believed in it and if NASA had not prepared adequately for it. As those men thought in their hearts, so it became. Even the sweeper believed in the possibility of man one day landing on the Moon. But they did not just believe and sat. They all went into difficult preparations. They had, for example, to get acquainted with weightlessness or having to breathe from an air bottle, among others. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins clocked so many flying hours in Earth-bound equipment as they prepared for piloting Apollo 11 to the Moon and back. Even Richard Nixon, the American President in 1969, carefully prepared the speech he would make after the men had reached the Moon. He, by the way, had another speech written, which he would read in the event that the mission was not successful and that the brave men had perished in space.
So you, dear reader, need to believe in your abilities then take the necessary action to prepare for your task(s). That is what will bring you success. Search within yourself and discover which attitudes hold you back then discard them.