[tasty_freeze]

Because "your attitude determines your success" explicitly states that if you fail it is because of your attitude. People fail for many reasons, usually a combination of reasons. Attitude is just one factor.

It is very comforting for people who are high on the social ladder to believe in a meritocracy: it lets one their successes are due to their superior character, and those who are on the bottom of the ladder are there due to a failure of character.

[auganov]

It doesn't say anything about the inverse. You can simultaneously believe success is determined by yourself and failures are just bad luck. It's positive thinking. Some enjoy it, some don't.

[tux3]

You certainly _can_, and I'm all for positivity if it helps you, but don't you think there is a contradiction here?

Again, if it helps go right ahead.

[croissants]

> It doesn't say anything about the inverse.

Interpreted as a literal propositional statement, it's saying "if you have a good attitude, then you will have success". Therefore if you do not have success, it must be because you did not have a good attitude, which is your fault. It's the contrapositive, right?

[auganov]

If you take "determines" to mean "is the sole determining factor ... at a given instant" then yes. But with a more conventional reading, unless you define a time-frame, deny randomness or otherwise specify an outcome - no. "Will have" is a stronger rephrasing, but even with this wording it wouldn't necessarily blame your attitude as long as you're alive (and if one believes in afterlife the promise may as well never expire).

[ncallaway]

It does say something about the inverse though.

If success is determined by positive thinking that seems like it strongly implies that success is a necessary and sufficient condition.

Which implies that a lack of success is a failure of attitude.

Admittedly, this is mostly a semantics game of what specifically "determines" means, but to me it strongly implies both necessary and sufficient.