By Alfonso Elengikal
W. Clement Stone, one of the most popular motivational authors of our century, writes, “There is very little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. That little difference is whether one’s attitude is positive or negative.”
Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States qualifies the above statement saying, “Nothing can stop the man/woman with the right mental attitude from achieving his/her goal; but nothing can help the man/woman with a wrong mental attitude.”
John Paul Carinci speaks of a 35-year-old man, born without legs, in his book The Power of Being Different, whom he had seen featured in a television show. Carinci writes, “I saw him walking on the palms of his hands right to the edge of a pool; he then flipped himself in, and started swimming with his arms, as a normal person would do with his legs. A little later, he pulled himself out of the pool and, again using his hands, walked right over to a chaise lounge at the pool while I sat transfixed, wondering what this man would do next.
“The programme then showed him in the kitchen where he pulled himself on to a chair, and moving to the kitchen counter to have his meal. Finally, I saw this unusual man climbing onto the engine compartment of a car in a garage, where he worked as an automobile mechanic….”
Professional Baseball player Jim Abbott was born on September 19, 1967, in Flint, Michigan, with only left hand. However, very early in life, he earned for himself name and fame, which players with both hands cannot easily achieve!
Abbott would catch the ball from the catcher with his glove on his left hand. He then would hold the ball against his right limb. Then with the limb resting against the glove, he would wind up and pitch the ball. Soon, he would slip his left hand into the glove. He could actually pitch the ball with one hand, and also field the ball very well, if it was hit back to him. From 1985 -88, he captained “Michigan” team leading them to win two Big Ten Championships. From 1989, he was in the Major Leagues.
In 1986, Abbott received the United States Sports Academy’s Mildred “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias Award for his courage and will power to overcome adversity, and excel in sports. Next year, he won the James Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the US. In 1992, he was presented the Tony Conigliaro Award, given annually to a major League Player who successfully overcomes obstacles and adversity with unflinching determination. As recent as 2007, Jim Abbott was elected to the College Baseball Hall of Fame for his successful career in Michigan. Abbott says, “All things are possible as long as you long for it enough. By changing your attitudes, you change your results!”
Here’s another young man who was born without arms. Though he doesn’t have arms, he brushes his teeth, drives his car to different locations, opens a jar, and does everything that we do, by using his feet in place of arms.
He does it all, amazingly, by raising his legs up the way we use our arms. He tells young people like him to win over hurdles and handicaps, by developing a positive attitude to life. If he could succeed in spite of serious limitations, he says, they too can be winners and successful in life!
Life without limbs or the normal use of our limbs is unthinkable for most of us. Under such circumstances, many even think of putting an end to their lives, God’s most precious gift.
But the men above teach us beyond doubt that life is worth living, even in such or worse situations, and that we can still make of our lives a beautiful gift to God and to the people around us! What really matters most in life is our attitude to life, and all that it brings to us!