The attitude that shapes society
Attitude and behavior are woven into the fabric of daily life. Research has shown that individuals register an immediate and automatic reaction of good or bad towards everything they encounter in less than a second, even before they are aware of having formed an attitude. Most of the people hold complex relationships between attitudes and behavior that are further complicated by the social factors influencing both. This explains why two people placed in the same situation often respond very differently. The present state of the world, in which we live, is what it is because of certain systems viz. social, political, economic, religious and others, all these woven together into a complex structure, called society. These systems, in turn, are built on certain attitudes and values which various nations, communities or groups of people have come to acquire over a period of time. When these attitudes remain unquestioned for long, they slowly turn into rigid beliefs. These attitudes, in their turn, are based on the ideas, ideologies or beliefs which people have acquired, over a period of time, from others or have learnt by first-hand experience.
Many of these beliefs were relevant in a different era, but in a rapidly changing world, they now need re-examination. So, if we want to build a better world order, there is no way to it except through attitudinal change or the shift in values and that change or shift, as has been pointed out earlier, cannot take place unless certain age-old beliefs are changed. Let us, therefore, not forget that the improvement in the self, betterment of our relationships and the spirit of service of others would not be possible without Attitudinal Change, and in order to bring about the attitudinal change, we have to give to the society a new, convincing and inspiring ideal and also the ideology necessary to achieve that ideal.
Most of our attitudes are built up in our family and hence the deterioration first starts in the family and then it penetrates into the society. So, in order to bring about a better world, we must inspire people to make a better family. Today, the family is disintegrating and so we find that there is a tendency of separatism and fragmentation all over the world, as a result of which a country like India that is known for its rich cultural heritage and family values is now witnessing more and more nuclear families as compared to joint families, which acted as a strong support system for every member.
The criteria of every relationship today is “Give & Take”. And when relationships become transactions, trust slowly erodes.
We must remember a fact that a man who is dissatisfied at home, would spread dissatisfaction and tension outside as well. So, before this erosion of values devastates us, we should seriously think about changing our attitudes and start building better families, for, better families would make a better world. So, don’t wait too long, adjust your attitude right now. You’d be surprised how much you really can change the world just by changing your attitude.
The writer is a spiritual teacher and a columnist; Views presented are personal.
