Morning readers,
How often are you a victim of peer pressure?
How often are you a perpetrator of peer pressure?
It has been mentioned in an earlier entry that the power of our associations make a huge impact on our habits and ultimately who we are.
Peer pressure is a continuation in the same line as that entry.
The questions we must continously remember to ask and as often as possible are
Who do I spend my time with?
What are they doing to me?
Is that OK?
If we are not willing to practise limited associations with people who are going to pull us away from the better vision we have for ourselves, then we should not complain about not being where we want to be.
Many people strive for increasing the quantity of their friends.
How few worry about the quality!
One good friend who is a positive influence on you is better than 50 whose company sees you corrupting your health, wealth and spirituality.
The good news is that you are able to make the decision to choose your friends more carefully as soon as you want.
As I often do, I will end this post with a quote. This is from Will Smith:
“TOO MANY PEOPLE SPEND MONEY THEY HAVEN'T EARNED TO BUY THINGS THEY DON'T WANT TO IMPRESS PEOPLE THEY DON'T LIKE.”
Thursday, 28 May 2015
Sunday, 24 May 2015
The power of encouragement
Morning readers,
How often do you go out of your way to offer encouragement to your friends and family?
How often do you seek out information in the form of books, articles or videos that encourage you?
A wonderful quote that I recently read stated that encouragement is oxygen for the soul.
It is fascinating that when teaching a child a new skill such as walking or talking, us human beings have unlimited patience and offer huge encouragement even with the smallest of progress. However, when the child gets older and older the encouragement dissipates and all that remains are scowling orders and unreasonable expectations on how well it should be achieving compared to their peers.
Experiments conducted have shown that people learn quicker and retain more when encouraged yet as a species we still don't take heed and are all too quick to criticise.
From a religious perspective, it is interesting for me to see that God almighty praises a nation in the Quran as being the best nation and gives 2 reasons for the praising the nation.
None of the reasons include education, affluence or health.
In chapter 3:110 of the Quran, God praises a nation for its people encouraging each other towards righteousness and discouraging each other from evil.
In today's world, there seems to be a huge focus on ourselves and doing the best that we can. There is nothing wrong with wanting the best for ourselves. It is in our nature.
What I am really trying to convey is that each of us possess the power to provide oxygen to the soul of each other with words of praise, recognition and encouragement and we should be mindful to not neglect this beautiful gift that we are able to offer that doesn't even cost us anything. We should also be mindful to find people and sources of encouragement to ensure that we grow and develop into our full potential.
As often, I will end this post post with a quote:
9/10ths of education is encouragement.
How often do you go out of your way to offer encouragement to your friends and family?
How often do you seek out information in the form of books, articles or videos that encourage you?
A wonderful quote that I recently read stated that encouragement is oxygen for the soul.
It is fascinating that when teaching a child a new skill such as walking or talking, us human beings have unlimited patience and offer huge encouragement even with the smallest of progress. However, when the child gets older and older the encouragement dissipates and all that remains are scowling orders and unreasonable expectations on how well it should be achieving compared to their peers.
Experiments conducted have shown that people learn quicker and retain more when encouraged yet as a species we still don't take heed and are all too quick to criticise.
From a religious perspective, it is interesting for me to see that God almighty praises a nation in the Quran as being the best nation and gives 2 reasons for the praising the nation.
None of the reasons include education, affluence or health.
In chapter 3:110 of the Quran, God praises a nation for its people encouraging each other towards righteousness and discouraging each other from evil.
In today's world, there seems to be a huge focus on ourselves and doing the best that we can. There is nothing wrong with wanting the best for ourselves. It is in our nature.
What I am really trying to convey is that each of us possess the power to provide oxygen to the soul of each other with words of praise, recognition and encouragement and we should be mindful to not neglect this beautiful gift that we are able to offer that doesn't even cost us anything. We should also be mindful to find people and sources of encouragement to ensure that we grow and develop into our full potential.
As often, I will end this post post with a quote:
9/10ths of education is encouragement.
Wednesday, 20 May 2015
The power to be enthusiastic
Good morning everyone
What makes you enthusiastic?
How often are you enthusiastic?
How often are you indifferent or luke warm instead of being enthusiastic?
One of the biggest keys to success is to be enthusiastic.
Why?
The reason is that enthusiastic people are the most influential. If a foolish idea and a wise idea are both presented to masses of people, but the wise idea is presented with a lack of interest and the foolish idea is presented with huge enthusiasm, which idea do you think will win the hearts of the people?
If you think it is the wise idea, then you are dreaming about an ideal world and one in which I certainly do not live.
The reality is that enthusiasm is contagious. One of the easiest ways to stand out from your peers is to become the most enthusiastic person you know.
It is also one of the most important skills to master to become more influential in both personal and professional matters.
Edward Appleton even stated that he values enthusiasm above professional skill.
If you can't become enthusiastic about what you do, then think about what you could do instead that you could be enthusiastic about.
Life is short and we all have things that we could achieve with passion and enthusiasm if we are only brave enough to follow our dreams.
Do you want to get to the last days of your life and think about how large parts of it were spent going through the motions rather than living a life of passion and enthusiasm?
I will end this post with a quote by Abraham Lincoln:
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.
What makes you enthusiastic?
How often are you enthusiastic?
How often are you indifferent or luke warm instead of being enthusiastic?
One of the biggest keys to success is to be enthusiastic.
Why?
The reason is that enthusiastic people are the most influential. If a foolish idea and a wise idea are both presented to masses of people, but the wise idea is presented with a lack of interest and the foolish idea is presented with huge enthusiasm, which idea do you think will win the hearts of the people?
If you think it is the wise idea, then you are dreaming about an ideal world and one in which I certainly do not live.
The reality is that enthusiasm is contagious. One of the easiest ways to stand out from your peers is to become the most enthusiastic person you know.
It is also one of the most important skills to master to become more influential in both personal and professional matters.
Edward Appleton even stated that he values enthusiasm above professional skill.
If you can't become enthusiastic about what you do, then think about what you could do instead that you could be enthusiastic about.
Life is short and we all have things that we could achieve with passion and enthusiasm if we are only brave enough to follow our dreams.
Do you want to get to the last days of your life and think about how large parts of it were spent going through the motions rather than living a life of passion and enthusiasm?
I will end this post with a quote by Abraham Lincoln:
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.
Wednesday, 13 May 2015
The ripple effect
Good morning everyone.
Have you ever stopped to consider how often and how well you utilise the ripple effect?
For those of us who have not heard of this concept before, the ripple effect means that just as ripples spread out when even a small pebble is dropped into the water, the actions of individuals can have far reaching effects.
Another quote that beautifully explains this concept is:
Remember there is no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.
It is also my belief as a Muslim that the greatest good deeds I can perform are actions which cause ripple effects that can continue to benefit God's creation after I die.
If for example I pray, I get one good deed recorded. However if I lay down or pay for one brick to be laid down for a hospital, I will have a share of the reward for every person cured in that hospital so long as my brick is going strong.
So with this in mind, I ask everyone including myself again - how often and how well do we utilise the gift of the ripple effect?
We will only live on Earth for 60, 80 or maybe if we are lucky 100 years. When we check out of here, all that will matter will be who did we become and what positive contribution did we make.
It is therefore my suggestion that whenever you find an opportunity to produce a ripple effect, take it.
It could be sharing an article or quote on social media that one of your friends or family read that changes their life and teach it to others.
It could be planting a tree.
It could be raising righteous children.
It could be writing a book.
It could be contributing financially to building a school or hospital.
The possibilities are endless and they are all around us every day.
I will end this post with a quote from Mahatma Gandhi:
You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result.
Have you ever stopped to consider how often and how well you utilise the ripple effect?
For those of us who have not heard of this concept before, the ripple effect means that just as ripples spread out when even a small pebble is dropped into the water, the actions of individuals can have far reaching effects.
Another quote that beautifully explains this concept is:
Remember there is no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.
It is also my belief as a Muslim that the greatest good deeds I can perform are actions which cause ripple effects that can continue to benefit God's creation after I die.
If for example I pray, I get one good deed recorded. However if I lay down or pay for one brick to be laid down for a hospital, I will have a share of the reward for every person cured in that hospital so long as my brick is going strong.
So with this in mind, I ask everyone including myself again - how often and how well do we utilise the gift of the ripple effect?
We will only live on Earth for 60, 80 or maybe if we are lucky 100 years. When we check out of here, all that will matter will be who did we become and what positive contribution did we make.
It is therefore my suggestion that whenever you find an opportunity to produce a ripple effect, take it.
It could be sharing an article or quote on social media that one of your friends or family read that changes their life and teach it to others.
It could be planting a tree.
It could be raising righteous children.
It could be writing a book.
It could be contributing financially to building a school or hospital.
The possibilities are endless and they are all around us every day.
I will end this post with a quote from Mahatma Gandhi:
You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result.
Tuesday, 12 May 2015
The power to wake up early
Good morning readers,
Have you ever stopped to consider what time you wake up every morning?
I am going to list some questions that I asked myself a few months ago and I will reveal some of my answers after listing the questions.
I think that everyone can get maximum benefit from this post by taking the time to write down their own answers or at least verbalise them.
Here are the questions:
1) What are your current morning rituals?
2) What do you think the perfect morning ritual looks like?
3) How much time would it take to perform what you think would be the perfect ritual?
4) How would you feel if you carried this ritual out for a week?
5) what changes would you expect in your life if you took on the perfect ritual?
6) should this ritual be different on days that I am working and days that I am off work?
7) won't waking up so early result in feeling tired really early and sleeping earlier?
The reason I have recommended to write your answers to the questions is because writing things down is empowering and clarifies ones thoughts.
It would be ideal to write your own answers down before reading mine, but it is up to each reader whether you want to read for entertainment, motivation to change or a bit of both.
1) my routine was to get dressed, brush my teeth and leave the house within 15 minutes of getting up. I would usually have woken up to pray the morning prayer and then go straight back to sleep.
2) perfect routine is very long to describe so I will summarise it.
It needs to have a spiritual element ( prayer, reading from the scripture etc)
It needs to have an educational element like reading / watching an educational programme.
Hygiene element: brush teeth, shave etc
Exercise
Journalling.
Helping the wife with some household chores.
Breakfast.
3) it takes around 3 hours
4) tiring, but fulfilling.
5) Happier and more spiritually fulfilled.
6) it should be the same on days on or off. Time wasted is life wasted.
7) yes it will, but you end up sleeping different hours rather than more hours. Sleeping from 10-30 to 5-30 instead of 12 to 7 for example. However, you can be more productive from 5-30 am to 7 am compared to from 10-30pm to midnight.
I will end this post with an ancient old saying that's wisdom still holds true:
Early to bed,
Early to rise
Makes a man (or woman!) healthy, wealthy and wise.
Have you ever stopped to consider what time you wake up every morning?
I am going to list some questions that I asked myself a few months ago and I will reveal some of my answers after listing the questions.
I think that everyone can get maximum benefit from this post by taking the time to write down their own answers or at least verbalise them.
Here are the questions:
1) What are your current morning rituals?
2) What do you think the perfect morning ritual looks like?
3) How much time would it take to perform what you think would be the perfect ritual?
4) How would you feel if you carried this ritual out for a week?
5) what changes would you expect in your life if you took on the perfect ritual?
6) should this ritual be different on days that I am working and days that I am off work?
7) won't waking up so early result in feeling tired really early and sleeping earlier?
The reason I have recommended to write your answers to the questions is because writing things down is empowering and clarifies ones thoughts.
It would be ideal to write your own answers down before reading mine, but it is up to each reader whether you want to read for entertainment, motivation to change or a bit of both.
1) my routine was to get dressed, brush my teeth and leave the house within 15 minutes of getting up. I would usually have woken up to pray the morning prayer and then go straight back to sleep.
2) perfect routine is very long to describe so I will summarise it.
It needs to have a spiritual element ( prayer, reading from the scripture etc)
It needs to have an educational element like reading / watching an educational programme.
Hygiene element: brush teeth, shave etc
Exercise
Journalling.
Helping the wife with some household chores.
Breakfast.
3) it takes around 3 hours
4) tiring, but fulfilling.
5) Happier and more spiritually fulfilled.
6) it should be the same on days on or off. Time wasted is life wasted.
7) yes it will, but you end up sleeping different hours rather than more hours. Sleeping from 10-30 to 5-30 instead of 12 to 7 for example. However, you can be more productive from 5-30 am to 7 am compared to from 10-30pm to midnight.
I will end this post with an ancient old saying that's wisdom still holds true:
Early to bed,
Early to rise
Makes a man (or woman!) healthy, wealthy and wise.
Sunday, 10 May 2015
The power of smiling :-)
Readers,
Life can be so busy, stressful and competitive. Keeping up with the Joneses is seriously hard work.
The problem with a life lived this way is that life's most precious treasures that money cannot even buy are neglected.
Have you ever stopped to think about how often you go out of your way to smile at someone who did not bother to smile at you?
It could be neglect to smile at your spouse as you leave the house in a hurry.
How about the shop keeper you buy your bus pass from?
The bus driver who drives you to work?
Your boss as you meet or is it almost always straight to business?
I think we all get the point. This blog entry is to serve as a reminder to myself first and then others that smiling is such an easy, free and beautiful gift that we can give away as often as we decide to multiple times a day.
It is such a blessing that the prophet Muhammad (saww) famously said that smiling is an act of charity!
Who amongst us doesn't wish deep down in our hearts we had the inclination to give more away? Let us start by giving away our smiles and perhaps it will inspire further charitable activity from us.
Some people believe that due to the important nature of life, it is necessary to be serious. It is true that joking too much is disadvantageous, but smiling is not a sign of joking. It is a sign of mercy and compassion.
Let us try and remember how great we feel when someone smiles at us and try to share that feeling with as many of God's creation as possible.
I will end this with a quote that probably everyone has heard before because it is that good :-)
A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.
Life can be so busy, stressful and competitive. Keeping up with the Joneses is seriously hard work.
The problem with a life lived this way is that life's most precious treasures that money cannot even buy are neglected.
Have you ever stopped to think about how often you go out of your way to smile at someone who did not bother to smile at you?
It could be neglect to smile at your spouse as you leave the house in a hurry.
How about the shop keeper you buy your bus pass from?
The bus driver who drives you to work?
Your boss as you meet or is it almost always straight to business?
I think we all get the point. This blog entry is to serve as a reminder to myself first and then others that smiling is such an easy, free and beautiful gift that we can give away as often as we decide to multiple times a day.
It is such a blessing that the prophet Muhammad (saww) famously said that smiling is an act of charity!
Who amongst us doesn't wish deep down in our hearts we had the inclination to give more away? Let us start by giving away our smiles and perhaps it will inspire further charitable activity from us.
Some people believe that due to the important nature of life, it is necessary to be serious. It is true that joking too much is disadvantageous, but smiling is not a sign of joking. It is a sign of mercy and compassion.
Let us try and remember how great we feel when someone smiles at us and try to share that feeling with as many of God's creation as possible.
I will end this with a quote that probably everyone has heard before because it is that good :-)
A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.
Sunday, 3 May 2015
Spiritual nutrition
Readers,
How often do we pay attention to what we feed our soul and how often we feed it?
One of my favourite quotes is from the grandson of the holy Prophet Muhammad (saww) whose name is Hassan ibn Ali (as).
He said:
“I wonder about the person who contemplates about his nutrition but he does not consider (the food of) his intellect. Thus, he avoids of what hurts him in his stomach but he lets his mind to be filled with what destroys him.”
The beauty of this quote never ceases to amaze me every time I remember it.
The obvious question that should arise is "well what should I fill my mind with?"
The answer to this question is unequivocally knowledge. Our emphasis in this life must be to gain as much knowledge about things that benefit us as we can.
It is my personal belief that the number one thing to be gaining knowledge about should be where we came from (created and if so for what purpose or the result of chance with no designated purpose?), where we are going (post death - judged on our life choices by a creator or disappear forever? and why.
There are lots of world views - secular and religious and I believe it our responsibility to explore as many as possible and dedicate our lives to find the path that best fits the intellect and emotions that we possess.
However my favourite saint - Imam Ali (as) said that the value of each man depends upon the art and skill which he has attained.
Therefore we should also spend our time becoming the best at what we do and acquiring new skills.
I would like to end this blog entry with a quote from one of my favourite speakers - the late Jim Rohn.
He said: Successful people have libraries. The rest have big flat screen TVs.
I hope that this post has been educational and motivational. If you have found it beneficial, please feel free to share it with your friends and family so that hopefully they can benefit from it too.
I will hopefully be back with another entry in the next few days.
How often do we pay attention to what we feed our soul and how often we feed it?
One of my favourite quotes is from the grandson of the holy Prophet Muhammad (saww) whose name is Hassan ibn Ali (as).
He said:
“I wonder about the person who contemplates about his nutrition but he does not consider (the food of) his intellect. Thus, he avoids of what hurts him in his stomach but he lets his mind to be filled with what destroys him.”
The beauty of this quote never ceases to amaze me every time I remember it.
The obvious question that should arise is "well what should I fill my mind with?"
The answer to this question is unequivocally knowledge. Our emphasis in this life must be to gain as much knowledge about things that benefit us as we can.
It is my personal belief that the number one thing to be gaining knowledge about should be where we came from (created and if so for what purpose or the result of chance with no designated purpose?), where we are going (post death - judged on our life choices by a creator or disappear forever? and why.
There are lots of world views - secular and religious and I believe it our responsibility to explore as many as possible and dedicate our lives to find the path that best fits the intellect and emotions that we possess.
However my favourite saint - Imam Ali (as) said that the value of each man depends upon the art and skill which he has attained.
Therefore we should also spend our time becoming the best at what we do and acquiring new skills.
I would like to end this blog entry with a quote from one of my favourite speakers - the late Jim Rohn.
He said: Successful people have libraries. The rest have big flat screen TVs.
I hope that this post has been educational and motivational. If you have found it beneficial, please feel free to share it with your friends and family so that hopefully they can benefit from it too.
I will hopefully be back with another entry in the next few days.
Friday, 1 May 2015
The 90/10 principle
Readers,
The 90/10 principle is based on the premise that it does not matter what happens to you, but rather what matters is how you respond to what happens.
Therefore only 10% of your success or failure can be attributed to things that happened to you, but 90% is dependent on your responses to the happenings.
The first question to ask is whether it is true. Percentages for things like this are opinion. It is not a principle that can be measured empirically so if you are the type of person who dismisses such principles on the basis of it not being empirical, you would have missed the point of this post and blog in general.
However, the question whether it is broadly speaking true is a better question. I would like you to think of something in your life that didn't come naturally to you... something that maybe you even considered giving up, but persevered anyway.
Think back to what your response could have been and what impact it could have had. Hopefully, this exercise brings home the truth of the principle.
Here is my example:
I failed my UK driving test 4 times before passing it. Every time I failed, I felt sick to my stomach at the shame and wondered if would happen for me. After 3 tests, I started reading about other people's experiences of passing after multiple failures and it gave me hope and confidence that I too could do it.
Failure happens to everybody in life. However it is important to always separate your act of failure from your perception that you ARE a failure.
The second question is how to apply this principle. The problem with today's world is that knowledge is widespread, but wisdom is lacking.
We as a collective race know so much, but apply so little of our knowledge.
Imam Ali (as) said that knowledge which remains on the tongue is useless. The intrinsic value of it is that you act upon it.
We humans are forgetful so it is important to always seek reminders to keep our minds positive as that leads to higher energy levels and hopefully greater levels of productivity.
I will leave you with a quote:
Do not get upset with people or situations. Both are powerless without your reaction.
The 90/10 principle is based on the premise that it does not matter what happens to you, but rather what matters is how you respond to what happens.
Therefore only 10% of your success or failure can be attributed to things that happened to you, but 90% is dependent on your responses to the happenings.
The first question to ask is whether it is true. Percentages for things like this are opinion. It is not a principle that can be measured empirically so if you are the type of person who dismisses such principles on the basis of it not being empirical, you would have missed the point of this post and blog in general.
However, the question whether it is broadly speaking true is a better question. I would like you to think of something in your life that didn't come naturally to you... something that maybe you even considered giving up, but persevered anyway.
Think back to what your response could have been and what impact it could have had. Hopefully, this exercise brings home the truth of the principle.
Here is my example:
I failed my UK driving test 4 times before passing it. Every time I failed, I felt sick to my stomach at the shame and wondered if would happen for me. After 3 tests, I started reading about other people's experiences of passing after multiple failures and it gave me hope and confidence that I too could do it.
Failure happens to everybody in life. However it is important to always separate your act of failure from your perception that you ARE a failure.
The second question is how to apply this principle. The problem with today's world is that knowledge is widespread, but wisdom is lacking.
We as a collective race know so much, but apply so little of our knowledge.
Imam Ali (as) said that knowledge which remains on the tongue is useless. The intrinsic value of it is that you act upon it.
We humans are forgetful so it is important to always seek reminders to keep our minds positive as that leads to higher energy levels and hopefully greater levels of productivity.
I will leave you with a quote:
Do not get upset with people or situations. Both are powerless without your reaction.
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