Those who attribute their poor performance to a lack of ability or to situations beyond their control

They are demonstrating a perspective called pessimism.

Pessimism is a tendency to see the worse in all situations – they generally don’t have much hope for the future.

The opposite of this tendency is optimism – someone who sees the best in all situations; filled with confidence about the future. Someone who is somewhere in the middle would best be called as a realist.

answer; provide for the common defense:

answer; to save lives and protect property;