It is often said in our country that decades of communism and a criminal system have destroyed not only the economy of our country, but also, and above all, the mentality of its inhabitants. There is, of course, a lot of truth in this - we can hear opines every now and then saying that Poles still have not got rid of many of the blemishes that were left over from those dark times. Fortunately, not all attributes for which Poles were famous before the war were completely forgotten. One of them is certainly our, almost legendary among other nations, resourcefulness.

Probably the greatest proof of it was given by Poles during World War II. Today, too, we can see a great many examples of it, which perfectly shows that neither the destruction and tragedies of war nor the hard times of communism have succeeded in completely eradicating it from our national character. There have even been expert scientific studies on this subject. One of them was prepared by Professor Janusz Czapiński together with a team of scientists - it is entitled "Social Diagnosis" and its main objective was to create a thorough analysis of the state of Polish society. At work, specialists wanted to answer a question: how does a typical Pole behave in the face of any major problem? It turns out that since the 1990s, there has been a steady increase in the proportion of people who, in such a situation, simply roll up their sleeves and get down to work sharply.

Over the last two decades we have seen one more, very positive change. The percentage of people who are not ashamed to ask for help in such a situation and are willing to cooperate with others, who may be able to deal with the issue better, is growing significantly. Throughout the years of communism, Poles were strongly told that they were fully dependent on power and that only the power was able to effectively solve their problems. However, it turns out that year by year we increasingly believe that our fate is dependent exclusively on ourselves and we decide how it is going to go. Surveys show that the majority of Poles believe in their strength; we are convinced that we have enough value to deal effectively with many problems encountered in life. Such awareness of one's own capabilities is, of course, very important. Management and the ability to cope with problems is a characteristic feature of Poles also in the eyes of other nations. There are no reliable studies available to show how these characteristics compare with those of other nationalities. Many examples indicate that Poles are usually better able to cope with problems, but can be found in everyday life. Of course, the term "resourcefulness" itself can be quite difficult to define. It can also be influenced by a whole range of different factors: social conditions, individual character traits, upbringing, and many others. The level of our resourcefulness is also greatly influenced by the times in which we live.

Contrary to popular opinion, studies show that the younger the generation, the more resourceful. Young people are much less afraid of change than their parents or grandparents, are much more open to new ones and have much more courage. A perfect example of a resourceful man is Darek, a 33-year-old man living in Frysztak. He runs his own electronic service, which is in accordance with his training. He has already built a house for his hard-earned money and can afford to keep his family at a decent level. He claims himself, that this resourcefulness and diligence results from his upbringing - such attributes were always instilled in him by his father. Fact, for some of his dreams or goals he had to borrow money, but it never happened that at least a little late with the timely repayment of such obligations. However, the fear of borrowing is one of the biggest shortcomings of our society.

The latest research shows that a significant part of Poles have not decided to make such a financial commitment in the last year, despite the clear justification. Sylwia, Mr. Darek's sister, is also not afraid to take risks to make her dreams come true. She decided to study abroad, although she did not seem to have such a possibility, mainly in terms of money. As she admits, she sees a lot of Poles in a similar situation on the spot. Some people come to completely foreign countries, without any language skills, without any contacts on the spot - and yet the vast majority of them manage to find a job and achieve considerable professional success. There are many similar examples of resourcefulness of Poles. One thing is certain - we are not rather a nation that likes to wait for happiness to fall from the sky. In the vast majority of cases we take actions ourselves, often not afraid of risk, just to be able to build a dream life for ourselves and achieve success. So if you're facing a tough decision yourself, don't be afraid - risk it. Sail to the deep sea, because from the idle waiting for any "miraculous" change nothing will ever happen.