Mentality
“Show some mentality!”
This is a common shout often heard at my workplace. To be honest, I often feel confused to hear that. I mean, what the speaker wanted is quite abstract. Compare that to other commands such as “Fix the equipment!” or “Arrive earlier! I want you not to be late.” We can see that the first order doesn’t seem practical. Even worse, people often intertwine it with other abstract terms like ‘personality’ or ‘mindset’.
Well, what actually do you want us to do? Take a psychological test? Show our MBTI result? Then what? If the result doesn’t bring satisfaction to you, does it mean we belong to the mental institution?
Days and months are gone and I’m still trying to find the exact definition of it. Maybe I had problems because the speakers didn’t speak in their mother language, so they needed to find the closest English term to what they meant. Or maybe it’s me who is having the issue due to my poor English. I don’t know.
However, along with time, I can see what they mean by ‘mentality’, ‘personality’, or ‘mindset’. It can be defined as an act of taking responsibility to one’s own hands. When a group has a difficult problem, one shows their mentality by taking the leadership and trying to solve the issue for their teammates. Of course, they may fail, but they know the consequences and they are willing to bear it. And when the next trouble comes, it will be the same person who will lead their colleagues to overcome the obstacle.
A good ‘mentality’ can also be seen in one’s willingness to improve. If someone knows that they have a certain weakness, they will spend more time to be better in that area. Not just to fix a weakness, but one can show a strong mentality by constantly learning new stuff to add to their repertoire. In many sports, I’ve seen a lot of technically gifted athletes who are lazy. As much as I love them, it’s difficult to see such players having a great career. Those who are willing to go the extra mile, even when no one is watching, are sure to be one among the greats.
Let me close with a quote from one of Indonesia’s greatest thinkers,
“Kalau hidup sekadar hidup, babi di hutan juga hidup. Kalau bekerja sekadar bekerja, kera juga bekerja.” — Buya Hamka
(“If living just for the sake of living, even a pig in the forest lives. If working just for the sake of working, even a monkey also works.”)
May his words help us to reflect and ask ourselves: do we have the mentality to tackle issues we face in our family, workplace, or anywhere else? If yes, show it, then!
