Bahala na Mentality

What is Bahala na Mentality?

- The ‘bahala na’ expression is very common to Filipinos. Different situations allow us
to construe the term ‘bahala na’ in many ways.
- In Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino Psychology) it is described as "determination in the
face of uncertainty."
- Gripaldo (2005) in his analysis of the term,provided numerous situations when
‘bahala na’ is used
- Often, when a person feels uncertain of his/her situation, he/she decides to (1) leave
everything to God.
- Another notion of the ‘bahala na’ (2) focuses on the ability of the speaker to take care
of the situation despite the uncertainty of the results.
- A third meaning of the term speaks of a (3) situation where the person is left to do
what is needed or what he wants but must be prepared to face the consequences of
the action.

- It can be translated to mean "whatever happens, happens," "things will turn out fine,"
or as "I'll take care of things."
- The first three situations give emphasis on the utterance of ‘bahala na’ by the
speaker for the his/her own purpose
- still provided situations where bahala na’ is contextualized with the intent of referring
to another person.
- ‘Bahala na siya’ issued when (4) a person decides to tolerate another person for
doing whatever he/she wants
- Lastly, ‘bahala na’ could be expressed with the (5) intent of warning someone, such
is when ' bahala ka sa buhay mo’ is stated.
- Bahala na is a socio-cultural value in the Philippines as well as a phrasing in Filipino
language that is either said as an expression of a fatalistic attitude towards life or as a
determined one in a challenging situation where things are risky and uncertain.
- This attitude can have both positive and negative consequences for the Filipino people,
one being the lack of urgency or sense of responsibility for one's plight, the other being
that of openness to uncertainty, the exercise of free will to take a risk and attempt to
shape outcomes to a degree, in face of known and unknown factors that come into play.

BIPOLARITY OF BAHALA NA
- The earlier discussed fatalistic conception of ‘Bahala na’ was the definition
proposed by Bostrom.
- Lagmay (1977) on the other hand emphasizes an optimistic view of the
‘bahala na expression.
- In his study, Lagmay (1977) proposed that the bahala na response is evoked
when
1. it is difficult to have a foresight of results or consequences,
2. information, resources and even personal capabilities are lacking
3. when one is unprepared
4. support or help from others are not present and
 5. when one wishes to assess his capabilities, strengths and
weaknesses.
- Lagmay (1977) proposes that this uncertainty is central to every ‘bahala na’
situation
- An optimistic perspective sees ‘bahala na’ as an inner strength to dare, to
take risks, to initiate and move, to take up challenges and to assume
responsibility.
- These two views evoke an issue of whether ‘bahala na’ should be defined in
an optimistic way or a pessimistic way.
- This shows that ‘bahala na’ expression could tone either of
hopelessness or confidence
- Positively viewed, bahala na could refer to the acceptance of past events,
belief in one’s capabilities and taking initiative. On the other hand,negatively
viewed, bahala na speaks of a predisposition to inactivity, irresponsibility,
laziness,lack of foresight and determination
BAHALA NA AS A VALUE DEEPLY ROOTED IN FILIPINO CULTURE
- understanding ‘bahala na’ orientation must be done with reference to the
Filipino culture
- In measuring the bahala na orientation, a guiding definition of the term must
be that, first, it is a response to a distant or somewhat distant future, which is
caused by a perceived sense of incapacity for the moment and lack of
substantial information for determining the possible consequences or result of
a situation. Second, it is an expression of acceptance of things as they are.
- This shows that people with the ‘bahala na’ orientation can tolerate ambiguity
and has an implicit trust in him/herself
FACTORS DEFINING BAHALA NA
DETERMINATION
- According to Tiangco (2006), survival as a core value includes surface values
such as determination and bahala na.
- Bahala na is a factor for survival since it is depicted as a defense mechanism
from harsh realities
- This act of self-preservation enables them to find no need to strive harder and
instead establish a happy-go-lucky attitude.
RISK TAKING
- The bahala na orientation encourages them to take risks because they
believe that there is nothing more to lose, nor there is a future at stake
- therefore is taken as the last resort, or escape mechanism for such a
hopeless state, and is seen as one way of regulating intense emotions that
transpire through the transitions of a Filipino’s life.
LOCUS OF CONTROL
- the orientation of external locus of control is negatively correlated to coping
styles, but is positively correlated with defensiveness
 - Many Filipinos use predominant Catholic and Christianpractices, and
consider a Supreme Being as a significant external source of strength to
manage daily challenges.
- Bahala na in this notion is being used as a defense measures which may be
translated as “it’s in the hands of God”, or “leave it unto God”
SELF-EFFICACY
- Bahala na provides avenues for visualization for a person with high self-
efficacy willmore likely perceive scenarios where he/she will acquire success.
- This orientation considers not only the risks and consequences for one’s
actions, but also one’s capacity to perform tasks satisfactorily.
OPTIMISM
- sees optimism as an effective counteraction to thefatalistic adaptation of the
term bahala na
- They use humor,positive reframing and problem-focused coping as tools to
deal with unfortunate events.

References:
https://pdfcoffee.com/bahala-na-conceptual-pdf-free.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahala_na#:~:text=Bahala%20na%20