RE OPPORTUNITY IN ADVERSITY AND REAL WINNERS’ MENTALITY – A Trait I Find In Nana Addo

Kojo Tamakloe

‘The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.” ? Elisabeth Kübler-Ros Writer Nana Akwa dd 02/08/2013 Ghanaweb .
The Winner’s Mentality: a mind set for enhancing performance
If you can see it you can BE it!
The Winner’s Mentality System consistes of 5 Essential Mental Skills that, when learned, applied, and integrated, enable you to turn your potential into peak performance and to ensure that your success is enduring in business, sports, academics, or in life.
The Winner’s Mentality is not about winning; it is about behaving and thinking like a winner. It is the mind-set that high performers need to excel, to succeed, and to be the best they can be. Winners know how to concentrate and focus, to overcome obstacles and not lose sight of their goals, to learn from defeats, to overcome discouragement and frustration, and to perform maximally. Winners know how to maintain a winning attitude even in defeat. This is a positive mind-set. The core mental skills utilized in the Winner’s Mentality Mental Skills Training Program are goal setting, visualization, feelazation, energy management, effective thinking, and mental toughness. The Winner’s Mentality cannot be achieved without achieving mental toughness. In fact, one could say that the mental toughness as a cognitive construct is synonymous with the Winner’s Mentality.

The writer says he finds these qualities in Nana Dankwa Addo Akuffo. I beg to differ . In the article I loved the prose and the quality of the quotes . Permit me to repeat some of them “These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern “ May I ask what is compassionate or sensitive about some one who goes around shouting “ Yen Akan fo” , “all die be die”,and condones “ Kill ewes and Gas” Then urinates on Mosques and when he loses an election is not graceful enough to concede defeat but hypes up his supporters to go on a rampage of assaults and stabbings . What is compassionate about DEMONIZING , Dr Afari Gyan for his doing his work, of being an impartial referee which is supported by international organizations of monitors like the AU observer team, Jimmy Carter institute, EU monitoring team , UN observer team and internally by CODEO? What is sensitive and beautiful about making the presidency of the winner uncomfortable and tenuous by putting impediments in his way to govern ? What is beautiful about pouring vitriol on people who oppose your path of division and intransigence which you will call “ mental toughness” . I am referring to your crude behavior towards Ex president Kuffour and Mpiani for the choices they made . Was it not embarrassing that your pour vitriol on Mr Kuffour and Ex president Obasandjo only for Ex president Kuffour to have to take refuge with Obasandjo and abroad for the heat you generated and your unruly supporters to cool off. ?

What is beautiful about your supporters calling others, Ntafo, or pepefo and telling them without Free SHS they would have remained herdsmen ?What is beautiful about you and your supporters calling others by derogatory names and wishing them evil because you did not win or they did not vote for you? What is positive or beautiful about the vitriol your supporters pour out daily on others from other regions even including the food they eat? Let me show you something positive . An Australian recently won a chocolate making competition in Switzerland . Neither country produces cocoa. Why are they in the confectionery business? But what does your supporters do. Instead of promoting such they will disparage Omo tuo or “ Yo Ko garri” , or Keta school boys. In New Orleans, USA , there is a dish called “ gambo food” . The recipe when I got to know was the same as food we used to make as kids. From the beach we used to mix up the keta school boys with fish and shrimps making a soup . It is now something special for the “ Big easy” . That is positive thinking .I was in Kampala , Uganda and stayed at the Hotel International. One of the foods on the menu was called “ matoke’ . That was a traditional food in an international Hotel. But Nana Addo and his supporters disparage the foods others eat instead of promoting them. You want me to believe that is positive thinking leading to a winning mentality. Winners would have used these to promote international Cuisines. Next to the Indian, Spanish or Italian food restaurant would be Ghana Cuisine , “ drop in for hot food “ But what they have is the mentality of losers.
We will become winners when we begin to use what we have to get what we need . We have a lot that we can use to produce goods and services and grow the economy. Tetteh Quarshie had that winning mentality , which is why he saw the positive in the cocoa bean . Foreigners come in and use what we have and exploit us . We stay and complain or go out to clean plates. We get satisfaction from disparaging one another. How can the leader of such a group be termed positive , with a winning mentality ?

What is beautiful or sensitive about boycotting parliament? What is beautiful about doing nothing when Ghanaians looking for “ greener pastures” because your government has failed to provide them with jobs were killed and you did nothing? What is beautiful about you looking on or the other side when your colleagues were busy stealing state assets? What is beautiful about your government and department turning Ghana into a cocaine coast? What is beautiful about empowering your relatives to become drug barons ?

As I write the “ super chickens “ have just become the “ super eagles’ No condition is permanent , which is why we saw Cape Verde in the quarter finals and Bukina Faso in the finals . The choices are clear. Do we follow those who like the proverbial rabbit have gone on to sleep or do we follow the tortoise? Japan follows TQM a philosophy of making improvements all the time no matter how small. Not long ago there was no Toyota, datsun, cars etc, but Morris, Bedford, Austin . TQM made sure the Mazdas etc hold sway today. We have KNUST and a host of POLYTECHNICS. How do we encourage them? Through insults or disparaging comments ?

“What it took Europe 10 years to achieve , we need to accomplish in a year if we are to catch up” , Kwame Nkrumah . We can only do that with a leadership that looks forward , not one looking backward .

Kojo Tamakloe is an Nkrumaist who believes a United States of Africa is the solution to our underdevelopment