Everyday Canvas

Attitude and Dostoevsky

Prompt: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances,” Dostoevsky
Discuss the role of attitude in our lives. What is the difference between actions and attitudes? Are we always aware of our own attitudes?
(And if you wish) Were there any instances in your life where you were disappointed with your own attitude, not your actions but just the attitude?

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Attitude is a person’s belief, feelings, knowledge, and internal behavioral urge about an idea, object, or event. Many things influence our attitudes. Even when we think we are acting rightfully and rationally, it is a good idea to always watch oneself and ask questions such as: what is the way I am feeling about this subject based upon? Is something in my past influencing me or the ideas of my group and friendships?

Most of the time our attitudes influence our actions, so it is a good idea to examine each and every attitude before we act. Even though some people foster different attitudes inside themselves, sometimes, they act either to cover up for them or to gain some kind of favor from a person or society. Then, there are instilled attitudes inside us by our upbringing and backgrounds that make us act automatically without thinking for the best action. This is one reason we may be almost never aware of our own attitudes, and thus, we defend our actions resulting from them vehemently.

Although I do try to keep my attitudes in check, there have been many instances of wrong, automatic actions on my part; mostly wrong for my own welfare, though.

The reason I picked this saying by Fyodor Dostoevsky is because, during my formative years, I was awed by his writing and also because this author lived such a dramatic life.

In a nutshell, Dostoevsky began life wanting to read widely and write; however, he was arrested for belonging to a literary group that read books the tsarist regime chose to accept as being dangerous. He was taken to be executed with several other men. After all the rituals of execution were performed and the prisoners were lined up to be gunned down, the announcement of pardon by the tsar was read. The author’s sentence was reduced to four years in a labor camp in Siberia and compulsory military service later while in exile. This sentence didn’t let him have time to write but gave him an enormous amount of material, feelings, ideas, and attitude for his later years.

His resolve to write was never shaken and his attitude had even grown stronger toward his object of desire. I think his attitude and strength under such terrible conditions are to be admired and maybe even emulated.