Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Patience is gold! =)

Hi Readers! It’s been quite some time since I last updated my blog. After giving a few thoughts, I have decided to spend some time sharing views at my blog so that I can always keep it updated. So this post is going to be very brief. And what I plan to share today is regarding a chapter from a book titled “Di Sebalik Diri”.

But first, let me tell you some things about the book. This book caught my attention in the bookstore previously because of its simple yet useful contents. It tells us about the good and bad values that are common to every person on this Earth: our natural personality. It advices us on what personalities to develop, and what personalities to get rid. It tells all the how-to’s. And best of all, it gives abstracts from the Quran and Sunnah for us to ponder upon. Aside from getting new knowledge on self development, we can read the abstracts from Quran as well. Now, isn’t that just a 2-in-1 package?

Back to the chapter that I intended to share, the chapter is about “Sabar” or patience. Being patient is not my best value. Infact, I always get so angry on very little things. I realise that I am very temperamental – at one time I can be on a very good, sunny mood, and at one time, I can just get mad over some pitty things. Some might say that it is a natural personality, but in my personal opinion, personality is not something that we’re born with. We shape our personality to adapt to the environment that we’re living in. We show our personalities when we start to grow up. Therefore, it is not impossible (though it would be very hard) for us to change ourselves.

In this chapter, it gives us examples on how Prophet Muhammad P.B.U.H deals with his everyday life. How he abstain from anger when he was faced with the most difficult people, how he keep on moving just when everyone else is not listening. It’s just marvellous! Just as I have tried to apply Chapter 1 in my everyday life (chapter 1 is about “Istiqamah” or consistency), I would love to try to apply this in my everyday life. So friends, if you ever see me being less patient after this, please remind me of the chapter I’ve read. ;)

Oh, and how I said this post would be very brief. You know how I can’t stop when I start writing. He he. I will make sure I keep my blog updated (part of the “Istiqamah” work plan) =p. See you in the next post! ^_^

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Enjoy All Your Problems! ^_^

It's been quite some time since my last post. Been very busy with assignments, mid-terms, part-time jobs, finals.. and I have finally done doing everything! yeyy~ No more exams and assignments for me~~ =D Throughout the past few months, my energy seems like draining out.. But I know that I have to do everything perfectly. So maybe because of my busy life, I have disassociate myself from petty problems. Of course, everyone has problem. And as a girl, some little things can be exaggerated into a big problem - we have that special tendency of seeing little things in a big way. So I guess girls might be better than guys in thinking big, if only we applied that in work life. He he.

I, too, am not an exception of this way of thinking. I tend to think about little things a lot, and little problems suddenly seems very big to me. It's a tendency for girls, I suppose. But friends, never be deceived by the fact that we have some natural personality that flows in the blood or just natural human nature. According to the author of 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself, Steve Chandler, personality is not something that we inherit, but it's our reaction to the environment. It's what we saw and learnt from the environment, and thus, we developed a personality that could blend and adapt well to the environment. That's why people can change if they want to. =)

Infact, today's post will focus on a topic that I found interesting in the book 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself. I choose motivation number 46: Enjoy All Your Problems. Maybe this topic is chosen because there are a lot of my friends that I see are stressed out for examinations, as well as facing some problems. So, let me share something that I have learnt in this book to all of you. =)

In this topic, Chandler explained a lot about problems and solutions. Every solution has problem. Without problem, there will be no solution. So, we should never say we hate problems, because it boosts our mind to conduct creative thinking. It helps us to become a better person. For example, during our school years.. do you think that math problems that the teachers gave us as homeworks are big problems that we can never solve? Or do you agree with me that if we develop a positive thinking and a willing to learn attitude, as well as a tendency to love to solve those kinds of problems a lot, we can answer even the hardest algebraic questions?

So you see, problems are not to be feared. Problems are not curses. Problems are simply tough games for the athletes of the mind, and true athletes always long to get a game going. Here is something that I would like to extract from the book that I think will benefit all of us:

One of the best way to approach a problem is in a spirit of play, the same way you approach a chess game or a challenge to play one-on-one playground basketball. One of my favourite ways to play with a problem, especially one that seems hopeless, is to ask myself, "what is a funny way to solve this problem? What would be a hilarious solution?" That question never fails to open up fresh new avenues of thought.
"Every problem in your life," said Richard Bach, author of Illusions, "carries a gift inside it." He is right. But we have to be thinking that way first, or the gift will never appear.
If you see your problems as curses, the motivation you're looking for in life will be hard to find. If you learn to love the opportunities your problems present, then your motivational energy will rise.

Now, isn't that just amazing? How you can just see problems as a way that you're excited to solve. I love this part of book very much, that whenever I saw a problem, I tried to see it in a way of how I could solve it so that it would have a positive turn-around effect on me.. And guess what? It works! So, for everyone out there, let's get excited about facing problems and solve it! After all, it's just another math or sudoku problem to be solved. ;)

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Dreams and Plans: for Life or for Death?

It's been a while since my last update... No, delete that. I think it's more to "it's been a LONG TIME since my last update". =p Life has been quite a turn-around so far from the last time I wrote. Of course, the downsides are still not changing, but it has made me go for some alternatives to resolve it, or at least lessen the burden. So that's why even I only take 2 subjects this semester (and yes, I've taken all the other subjects. =D), my life has been quite busy. Especially with the current job of tutoring people. Currently am teaching SPM subjects for Accounts and Chemistry, and insya-Allah if everything goes well, this coming school holiday, will be teaching a PMR student on BM, English, Science and Math as well. Nope, I never feel any burden with this job. Of course, it will take some of my time and energy, but it is better than I spend my free hours doing nothing. And furthermore, I love teaching people! It makes me feel good to help other people to understand their lessons. =)

Before I got those tuition jobs, I had previously applied for the Part-Time TeleSurvey Executive at DataCom through JobStreet. Since I've applied earlier in January and did not receive any prompt reply up till early February, I guess I just didn't get the chance to work with them, and so I search for any tuition jobs and finally get one. Alhamdulillah... And to my surprise, during middle of February, the people from DataCom contacted me for interview... Eventhough I'm considering on using my free times for tuition opportunities, but I guess there's no harm in going for interviews, right? Furthermore, the DataCom interview was expected to be tough, as I will have to go through a number of tests: English, typing, aptitute and accent. And mind you, only those who scored above 80% for each test will get the chance to go for the next test. It's quite scary, but I just love challenges! And I love to gauge my capabilities. So yeah, I just go for it... And I was called for the aptitude test! Yippee~~ But the aptitude test was rather tough... So I'm not sure whether they'll call me for the accent test. He he. But I guess I just love doing those tests. =D

As for internship, I have secured a place in Parker Randall, a company situated in Phileo Damansara I. To me, it's a very nice audit firm to spend my internship period. I like the layout of the office, the working environment, the people, the flexibility of dress and shoes. He he. But overall, I like the managers there. Serious on business stuff, but very friendly when business is done. And they also replied promptly on my emails, which shows how they are dedicated to have good relationship with people, especially their current and potential employees. And furthermore, Kak Yong was also accepted! Yippee~~ Can't wait to start work on June! =D

Going through a number of interviews and involved in a few jobs this year, I have slowly think of the direction I'm heading to. I start to see what kinds of job I'm interested at, my strengths and weaknesses, my family priority, and what further studies that best suit my plans. In short, I have constructed a dream, but a dream that I want more than anything to pursue after I graduated. It's still vague, yeah, since I am currently still studying and still searching what really interest me among all those that I'm interested at, but I have the general idea from all the academics that I've learnt throughout my four years doing the Bachelor's degree at MMU. The utmost appreciation is of course to my father, who had seen everything before I see it. He was the one who can see through all my strengths and weaknesses, and which field would benefit me when add up to my strengths and capabilities. It was not until the final year of my degree that I finally see what he sees in me and my future. Love you, Ayah! ^_^

In a nutshell, I guess life is all about plans, and how determined you are to achieve it. But to Muslims, we also must guide our plans with the main thing in mind: the purpose we are living.

I only created jinn and man to worship Me. (Qur'an, 51:56)

This means that no matter how busy we are, we should remember that Allah created man for a single purpose: to serve Him by living by His precepts. So we should never leave this out when we are planning for our future, as one of the main thing that will be sure to happen to us in the future is death. So we also must be prepared for that. Even some of non-Muslim noted motivational speakers and authors had made it clear that dreaming of death is the best point where we could start planning our future. Take Jeff Davidson, for example. In his book "Reinventing Yourself", Jeff started with a "future" newspaper article about his death and how people relived his "desired" achievements in the article. It's really inspiring to visualise what people will write on newspaper articles about you when you are dead, don't you think? =)

Another example would be of Steve Chandler in his book "100 Ways to Motivate Yourself". Guess what was the first motivation of the hundred? It's "Get on Your Deathbed"! Steve had written that when you are dying, you will think of a lot of things that you should have done and said. You will have a lot of regrets: in your life, work, family, friends... So instead of regretting this later in life when we are dying, why not we visualise the scene and do whatever we can to prepare for it? It would help to save the teardrops in the future, and who knows, maybe we could even die smiling. ;)

Wallahu a'lam.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

10 Years from the Year 2000, 10 Years of Celebrated Achievements!

Today is 2nd January 2010, the second day of this new year that we are joyfully celebrating. As usual, new year comes with new year resolution, and everyone is suddenly so focused on getting themselves better… A very good first step in re-inventing yourself! But there are also some people who might have just loose hope of their potentials, and is just letting themselves to just be as times goes by. Not a single plan, not a single determination, nor was there any action to change. And one of them was me.

Last year, I really was determined to change myself with the change of year. I was so sure that I have so many hidden potentials that are yet to be unleashed. I was sure that I could make myself become a better person than how I was back then. And so, I also came up with a new year resolution that I was so determined to achieve it throughout the year. But somehow, throughout the year, obstacles consistently came… And I was let to believe that the obstacles were too big for me to face. My morale was down, my inspiration gone, and my action was only half way. Towards the end of the year, I let myself believe that there is nothing worth about me to be proud of. I was just another ordinary person with failures in everything I determined to achieve and was not motivated to change. I started to think that it was really me. I was destined to be that way. There was nothing that I could do that can change that.

Having reading a lot of motivational and self help books, I know that what I believe was a lie. I know that there’s no way I will be stuck in that position forever if I keep my head up high, not afraid to get up each and everytime that I fall down hard. But it’s just one of those days when you just lose hope, and how you are hoping that life hadn’t be this difficult and that you wish you have other people’s courage, determination and outlook. I was starting to think that I have never achieved anything much in my life compared to others that I looked up to and whom I was close with. I was losing hope.

So here I am today, still wondering what I want to construct in my New Year Resolution. It was when I tidied up my room with my radio as the background earlier today, when something really crossed my mind. I was listening to Fly FM and they started playing these international best songs for the last 10 years. And I do remember that every new year, the radio stations that I tuned on to would play the top 100 songs of the previous year. And since this year is 2010, they decided to play the best songs for the last 10 years… It made me think that every year, there would be a song that is worth being played in the new year… and maybe to be played on the celebration of every 10 years! How every year, there would be an achievement worth remembering and mentioning so that it could be an inspiration to other artists to make their way to the year’s best list.

And so I relate this to my personal life. Was I as bad as I have believed throughout my life? Weren’t there any achievements that are worth remembering and mentioning every year or every 10 years so that I could be motivated to be better, since there should be something that I have achieved and proud of every year? And so, this awakening in mind had let me to write this up so that I get the initiative to list down the achievements that I had so far to motivate myself and to also awaken up others who was feeling and believing as what I had felt and believed. Let us all be proud of who we are and never be down! There will always be a room for improvements and new achievements. =)

Year: 2000
Best Achievement: Get excellent result for UPSR, accepted into boarding school, and manage to live independently.

Year: 2001
Best Achievement: Get highest mark in English among my batch. The teacher even praised in seniors’ class about some of her students’ essays (and that includes me).

Year: 2002
Best Achievement: First time speaking in public (not to mention first time entering any contest), and I won the first place in school! I even beat the seniors~ Ha ha. I always thought that I had a stage fright or something. But this proves that to get rid of fear is to face fear itself. =)

Year: 2003
Best Achievement: Won the 1st place in my district’s Syarahan Agama Bahasa Inggeris! I beat last year’s winner to add to my triumph~ I even beat SBP students in the area. Yeyyy~ ^o^

Year: 2004
Best Achievement: I manage to turn my future in Chemistry around. Who would’ve thought that the person who was so used to get marks below 55 percent in Chemistry throughout her Form 4 tests and failed Chemistry in her 1st test in Form 5 would actually get the grade “A” for Chemistry in SPM? =D

Year: 2005
Best Achievement: Accepted into Matriculation College and was one of those personally trained by our English lecturer on MUET as he believed that we were capable of getting Band 6 in MUET (which we didn’t get at the end of the day). But what’s important is that the professional people BELIEVE in your potentials, right? Not many people gain this trust, and that is why I considered it as an achievement. =)

Year: 2006
Best Achievement: Get my 1st choice of UPU course options which is Polymer Technology at UiTM! My favourite course that I really looked forward to study further~ But due to some things, I decided to pursue my studies in Accountancy at MMU instead. At least I made a decision knowing that I had been offered what I had applied for, and I rejected the offer willingly. =)

Year: 2007
Best Achievement: First time studying accounting in my whole life… with no foundation and straight to the Bachelors degree… and I managed to control my pointers! And I always thought that I could never do it. He he. I guess when there’s a will, there’s a way, huh?

Year: 2008
Best Achievement: Manage to achieve the targeted CGPA that my brother had challenged me, and thus, was rewarded a free visit to UK & Andalucia! Yippeee~~~

Year: 2009
Best Achievement: Okay, this is a year where I felt down… Everything went wrong, and everything I did and decisions made turned out to be a big failure… I guess the best achievement that I get from this year is every failure that I faced. I’ve read somewhere that to be successful, you must first fail. If you haven’t met any failures, means that you haven’t pushed yourself hard enough. So, I guess what I learnt from the failures are the best achievements I had throughout the year. =)

And so, year 2010 will be the year that I want to achieve something memorable as well. I would push myself harder and harder. After all, I have taken a quote from Steve Chandler’s book “100 Ways to Motivate Yourself” as my new year motto: The harder you are on yourself, the easier life is on you.