When you meet a hard situation, what kind of attitude will you choose? There are two types of people in the world. The first type are positive and the others are negative. It looks like that the difference of their thinking will cause just a little difference of their lives. Frankly, there is a great difference that leads their life in opposite directions. Before I saw a glance of one scene I always thought, "Oh, terrible. I'm such an unlucky man. I can't do it. I'll never succeed," like a negative person. However after I saw that one scene, my thinking changed.
　　　 One day I just cast sidelong glances at the TV but was shocked by the scene. I saw a baseball player and he hit the ball. "Wow, what a fantastic home run it is! The ball flies straight to the fence!" I exclaimed. It became a great home run. As you know, a home run usually flies to the sky and falls down to the fence. I read in the newspaper that Americans usually like the latter more than the former because they want to see the ball stay in the air longer. Nevertheless, it was a really impressive home run to me. I hadn't seen that style of home run before. I became that player's fan. I still don't like baseball now, but I like him and his team, "Eagles," most.
　　　 The player's name was Jang Jong-hoon. In his rookie year, 11 years ago, he started his baseball career as just a trainee for the Han Hwa "Eagles," the professional baseball team. He didn't receive much recognition because he wasn't a good hitter when he entered the "Eagles." An interviewer asked him, "How did you overcome your hard situation?"
　　　 "Though I wasn't in a good situation, I did my best to become a more powerful and elaborate hitter. I always thought that I'll be a great hitter. I have believed that"
　　　 "What did you do specifically to realize your dream?"
　　　 "I tied a tire to a tree and hit that thousands of time every day to be stronger. If I gave up because of the hard situation, I couldn't do anything."
　　　 At last, he became the most representative home run hitter in the early 1990s. He hit 41 home runs in 1992, and his record hasn't been broken by anyone to now. Though he hasn't been good for the last several years and he is old as a baseball player, he always does his best. It makes me like him. "You are still my hero. I learned the importance of effort and positive thinking from you," I want to tell him.
　　　 I was in the army until last year. There was a lot of physical hard work in the military. First, in 1996, there was a big flood disaster in the northern part of Kyonggi Province. Even at the GOP, Guard Out Post, we had a lot of hard work! The iron railing was ruined and even buried in some places. We repaired that and made many waterways and manholes. It took more than four months, and during that time we lived in a tent. It was a horrible experience and the most fatiguing.
Though the situation was harsh, I always thought about my hero, Jang Jong-hoon, and it helped me to overcome the situation easily. Second, I had road marches many times. The last day of the field training excercise, we always had a road march. We marched over sixty kilometers and it was really strenuous. Nevertheless, whenever I had the road march, I overcomed the physical pain thinking about Jang Jong-hoon, and I didn't fail in any of the road marches. I'm so proud of that.
　　　 "Now, if you meet a hard situation, what attitude will you choose?" I want to ask you again. Before I saw the home run and knew the story about Jang Jong-hoon, I was one of the negative people, I think. However, after I knew about his efforts and sucess, my thinking changed. A glance of one scene changed my principle of life to a more positive one. Though the situation is harsh and hard to overcome, I'll do my best, and my life will be more like what I dreamed! Don't forget. Your life can change. It just depends on you. If your attitude is positive, you can overcome your problems easily and your life will be happier and more successful.