Mentality Shift

Mentality Shift

(SOC MORTEJO OC-2397 PA)

I

ntelligence without morality is like matter without substance. Moreover, intelligence and morality is what makes an individual’s character. The development of an individual’s character is a life-long and continuous process that starts during the early stages of human life. Thus, the kind of character we have can be traced from our rootedness and the system of valuation that has been inculcated in our minds.

       

        Undeniably, the people around us greatly influence our judgment and perception on things during our younger years. But as we age, we are being exposed to environments that can be considered as far from our comfort zones. We start to meet other people and undergo new experiences and begin to think independently. While it is true that experiences mold us, the way we judge and perceive those experiences – whether positive, negative, or even irrelevant – is still largely based on what our parents taught us when we were younger and through the things that we learned vicariously.

        Shifting from a civilian way of life to a military one, for instance, is a noteworthy experience for every member of our class. This certain shift meant adjustment in which we have to mold ourselves to become better than yesterday through a year of military training. And one of the main goals is to develop a sense of military mentality within each of us. But how do we know if a certain individual bears this particular kind of mentality? And how does military mentality differ from civilian mentality? I seldom hear individuals who say things like “napaka-sibilyan naman nang pag-iisip mo”, as if civilian mentality is inferior to what we call as military mentality. I think that should not be the case. Such statement can be considered discriminatory to individuals who are not part of the military. The thing is we are equating civilian mentality to immature mentality – which, as we all know, is wrong since not all civilians are immature thinkers.

        So, what is military mentality? If you try to ask the people around you, their answers can be varied and endless. But if you try to weave their answers together, you will get to a conclusion that an individual who bears this kind of mentality is someone who ACCEPTS a life of sacrifice. Sacrifice is the highest form of contribution any individual can give to society. And choosing to live a life of sacrifice says a lot about an individual’s character. Not all individuals have the courage to choose what we, men and women in uniform, opted to have, and because of that it is just right to feel happy about ourselves.

        Whatever kind of mentality we have – may it be military, civilian, mature, or immature – we must keep in mind that, most of the time, our actions mirror our thoughts; how we think, how we act, says everything about who we are as individuals. And whether we like it or not, we will be encountering more challenges as we continue our journey. It would be wise to mold one’s self by welcoming everything that life has to offer. And this is not because everything just comes so easy, but because life is the ultimate training ground. B

SOC MORTEJO is a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Psychology

at Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan.