The Procrastinator

Producing an admirable piece of writing has two main enemies, the first of which is coming up with a suitable topic. It was once said on a very useful blog: “Writers and runners share a common challenge… it’s often hard to get started.” ^[1]

(Once you do receive the revelation of a perfect topic, the challenge of controlling yourself before getting to a notepad or a laptop arises, but that in itself is a separate essay). Writing comes with a lot of trial and error, and so after I completed a piece of writing that I was not entirely proud of, I started thinking about how writers find inspiration.

It occurred to me that one usually writes about what they are familiar with. It is often advised to write about something you know well, or do well. And that is when I decided that I would write about procrastination, which not only brings me to the title of this essay, but also happens to be the second biggest enemy to producing an admirable piece of writing. (Of course, social networking sites are the main allies to this habit. That topic, again, however, belongs elsewhere.)

Let’s begin with a standard definition: according to the New Oxford American Dictionary, procrastination is the “action of delaying or postponing something”. Funnily enough, the example used to further explain this definition reads: “Your first tip is to stop procrastinating.” Already, we can see this is not a very desirable quality to possess, when people are being advised to give it up. Then why do people procrastinate? And why, as far as I’m aware, is this term being so widely and rapidly spread across the world?

Next, let’s take a tour of the mind of a procrastinator, or at least their thought process. Typically when a task or an opportunity arises and the deadline seems to be days and days away, one over estimates their capacity to work effectively and puts the task off for a while “because there is plenty of time left”. This stage is often referred to as ‘False Security’. The next stage, and probably one of the biggest reasons behind the habit, is laziness. This is the stage where even though getting a head start on the task seems like a wise decision, you decide to prop yourself against the computer screen and read blog posts on procrastination. Then come the excuses, where a certain voice in your head tells you you’re tired, or busy, or not in the mood, or not well, or just simply everything except in a position to start working. Then comes the denial. There is barely enough time left to start working and you know you’ve messed up, but you can’t admit it, so instead you settle to wasting even more time by saying you still have time left. The only difference between this stage and the first is that in the first stage, at least you’re not lying to yourself. Finally, crisis strikes. This normally occurs on the morning of the deadline or the night before. For some it may happen a day or two in advance but the nervous breakdowns don’t normally hit a procrastinator before that. This is when you share vows with yourself to never procrastinate again, knowing all along that you’re most probably going to break this avowal next time. ^[2]

Personally, when I procrastinate (which is too frequent to track), I feel weak inside. I feel I have failed. I feel I have succumbed to either social media, extensive, unneeded hours of sleep or laziness. How do I overcome this? Well, its difficult, and I continually fail. If you ask anyone who has completely overcome their habit of procrastination (if you can find anyone), they’ll probably tell you it was through immense hard work, determination and self-discipline. That’s the only answer. There is no shortcut. There is no easy way out.

Procrastination is an inherent part of our personalities. It’s human nature. It’s built-in. It’s a default feature. We make the difference by choosing to suppress the desire to procrastinate. The purpose of this essay was to shed some light on procrastination, and so keeping that in mind, I conclude with the words of a wise procrastinator (oxymoron): “I will stop procrastinating… tomorrow.”

References

[1] http://www.daily-writing-prompt.com/

[2] http://chibird.com/

The Meaning Of Life

We often overlook the meaning of our lives, thinking there is none. Like everything else on this universe, we are sent with a specific purpose. We have not been fashioned in such a supreme manner for a useless purpose. There is something grand and great behind our creation and our existence, and we need to recognise it.

Just Read. 

Pick Up Some Speed!

Ever seen someone up there and think, “That would have been so me!” You think there just wasn’t enough time to think, to go over the pros and cons, to assure and reassure it’s a good deal, to make all possible arrangements in case of a failure and then give it a shot.

Well guess what? Not only has your opportunity gone by you, but all the so-called arrangements and effort you put into the preparations also hold no value any more. The world wont ask you how much you thought about doing it, they will ask you whether you did it or not.

There is an ayah in the Quran, which talks about the people who hurry in good deeds. Whilst talking of the believers, Allah says, “These race for the good things, and they shall win them in the race.” (Al-muminun, ayah 61)

Allah (swt) says that those who are quick in good deeds shall win them in the race. And who can deny what Allah says is true? So consider it a guarantee; if you hurry in what is right and can serve the community and serve Allah (swt), you will get to do it, just like all those other people out there.

Therefore don’t think of the possible risks. Don’t start planning what you would do if you fail. Don’t be pessimistic. Instead, tell yourself you WILL NOT fail, because your Lord has said so. And GO FOR IT!

After all, those who do not take risks and do not meet failures in their life regularly are not really living life to its full potential!



#think.

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The importance of Salah is something we overlook far too often. This video moved me, and I'm sure it'll be of benefit to anyone who watches it.

We need prayer, we need Allah. Let's all prolong our sujoods and get closer to Jannah, in sha Allah. 

Conscious Believers

There have been times in my life where I wonder why I achieve so much when I really don’t have a chance to. I tell myself I have been lucky, that my name just gets pulled out of the box every time a competition, a selection or a test comes up. I tell myself it won’t happen again, it was just a one-time thing, yet I receive so much that I feel I don’t deserve again and again and yet again.

For a long time, I did not know why this happens to me. Surely, I have to be grateful for my successes, but grateful to whom? Isn’t it my luck, my fate? Yes! It is my pre-written fate, it just happens, it’s not like anyone makes an effort to make sure I am always successful in every trial of my life. But then… who wrote this ‘pre-written’ fate? I, for one, couldn’t have imagined anything of the sort. I also don’t think any human being is capable of doing so. There must be a greater Being, an Entity such that I have yet to comprehend and appreciate. They always say it, yes they do. I cannot possibly forget the biggest part of my life, my God. At least, that’s what I think.

My not forgetting the existence of God is a blindly accepted fact. Everyone knows there is God, the All-Seeing, the All-Knowing, the All-Powerful. Everyone (almost) accepts that! Then why pick such a topic to discuss? Doesn’t the argument- or in modern day English, discussion- end when there is hardly a difference of opinion? I’m not just talking about the situations where everybody believes in God, but also the situations when everyone shares the same faith. So everyone has the same beliefs, the same concepts, moral values, traditions and so on. What’s the point?!

When you come to it, the lines all meet at one concentrated point. All the rationalism and so-called wisdom hits one point, and that is a question: How many of us consciously believe in God? Or better yet, do any of us consciously believe in God? “What is that supposed to mean? Of course we are all conscious believers. I do, I do, I believe in God, I believe in Him consciously!” say the people. The complexity of this question gives way for another question to arise: What is a conscious believer in God?

When one is conscious about something, they are ever-aware of it. No matter what the situation, the consequences, the location, the time, the people, the fears, the anxieties, the enjoyment, the stares, the glares, there is always this one thing or person or entity or thought that springs up from the back of your mind, and takes priority over everything else. So in effect, its presence decides what you do, what you say and how you think. Should this not be the case with us and our God?

If we really have such a great issue with people being ‘judgmental’ all the time, and telling us what to do and what not to do, then we shouldn’t give them the chance to. There’s three ways to do that: firstly, you can become reclusive and lock yourself up where no soul finds you and can therefore no longer comment on what you are doing, although they would probably be making up stories of your disappearance behind your back, anyway. The second way to stop receiving ‘judgmental’ looks is to get those socially unacceptable habits out of yourself, to make sure you are never caught doing something that is not acceptable to society, to friends, to family and to ‘the people’. However, this is a risk, as no one wants to become a ‘people’s person’ and mould themselves according to their surroundings.

The last resort one has links back to the idea of being a ‘conscious believer’. If one does everything according to the way God- his creator- wants, no one can pass ‘judgmental looks’. “Pssht, yeah, right” Okay, well, they CAN pass judgmental looks; they can pass very sneer comments as well. And that fact doesn’t make this method very different to the others does it? Well, one thing does. In this method, the believer has got his God by his side at all times. He is a conscious believer, and so he is conscious of the fact that God is with him, all the time.

People’s comments no longer hold any importance in this believer’s eyes, his level of spirituality rises far above the others around him. And the best part is, once the believer makes a small effort to become ‘conscious’, it just becomes easier and easier. It is just like taking help from a strong person while hanging above a bottomless pit. One little effort to raise yourself an inch higher can save your life. But if we do not act quickly, we have already dug our grave. We have given up on hope without testing it. We have given up on life without living it. Think quick, for the rope of life is slowly tearing apart…