Joanna Belle Ng is a firm believer in the power of positive thinking:
“For this competition, I created a dream vision board where I pasted pictures of past Miss Malaysia and Miss Universe winners and looked at it everyday. As can you see, I won! It works, I tell you. You just have to believe in it,” she says triumphantly.
But whenever someone goes on about the advantages of positive thinking, I always think of a famous British battle in Afghanistan.
It’s 1880. And a small contingent of troops from the British 66th Foot regiment are marching to a small village called Maiwand. But before they arrive the British troops are set upon by thousands of enemy soldiers. An intense and bloody battle ensues. Hours later and an eerie calm settles on the battlefield.
There are eleven British soldiers still alive, but thousands of enemy troops left.
The British soldiers are completely surrounded but protected by a low wall on one side and some bushes on the other.
So what do they do?
Well, they have a quick conference and courageously agree that the best form of defence is attack. They are going to charge the enemy. Each man pledges to help an injured comrade if need be. They ready themselves, let out a piercing cry, and storm the massed ranks of the Afghans with their guns ablazing.
They fire until their bullets are gone.
And then the enemy troops kill them all.
So where did positive thinking get the British troops? They had a clear goal, belief and every reason to be motivated. Yet they still failed.
Yep, be positive by all means. And always try to win. But never believe that you will always win just by exercising positive thinking:
You only have to talk to the other girls who entered the Miss Malaysia contest to know that!
Joanna Belle Ng is a positive thinker
Miss Malaysia (Joanna Belle Ng) 
Miss Indonesia (Kerenina Sunny Halim)
