New Year Resolutions!

You know when you’re hungry and you heat up some food in the microwave? And you heat it up for lets say a minute,and behold, one minute’s up and you’re food’s ready. Ever realized how quickly that single minute passes by?  Minutes, then an hour, a month and finally a year. Noticed how the seasons change so quickly?

2013 will come to an end very soon (or it has by the time this article is published) and, no, we wont ever have another 2013. We can’t rewind back time. We won’t get younger. No amount of plastic surgery or Botox will change the fact that we are aging, that we are nearer to death.

And syncing with society, typically with the beginning of the New Year, we discuss about this New Year’s resolution.

Of course, it differs for each of us. We have our own wishes and needs. No two persons are alike. 

But, no matter how different we are as an individual, as Muslims, it is a must to plan for self-development as well. We always complain about how this ‘ummah’ lack unity, lack strength and then the blaming game ensue. But, if you want something to change, change must start within you. You change yourself for the better, your family will follow, your society, fellow citizens, then the whole ‘ummah’.

"Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves." (Surah Al-Rad, 13:11)

Tell yourself, today is a new day, I WILL TRY MY BEST to do all the good I can and refrain from doing the bad. Better is if you try to do your utmost best to get everyone to do the same. Amar makruf nahi mungkar, remember?

The easiest way to start doing good is, don’t do what you don’t like being done to yourself. Hate being judged? Don’t blindly judge other people. Hate sarcasm? Stop being sarcastic. Detest people whispering around and being left out? Don’t imitate that! I know it’s hard, but deep down, everyone knows it’s the right thing to do. Revenge doesn’t go well, it’ll only continue as a vicious cycle and it’ll come right back to you somehow.

Where should I start?

Start from something small. Eventually big changes will happen within you. And it doesn’t matter how long it takes (years, decades) for the result to appear. What matters to Allah is the perseverance, the hard work, the never-giving-up. What matters is that you at least tried. And surely Allah will help us in a variety of ways we could never have imagined. Don’t forget to pray! 

Some of the examples of simple, awesome resolutions for the year include:

                                         

- I want to stop expecting paybacks from favors I give. Cause, expectations are the root of all disappointments. If I help someone, I want it to be because of Allah, not because I hope the favor will be returned. Because doing something and expecting something in return from humans, you’re bound to get upset, angry, and frustrated.

-I want to be happy and retire from being a complainer.

- I want to be closer to Him.

-I want to perform better ibadah, and I want to remember my fellow Muslims in my prayers,

- I want to do something for me, for society, good things; things that can help bring me to Jannah. Cause, another year has passed, the clock is still ticking and it won’t ever wait for me. And the faster time drifts away from me, the nearer my time limit is.

- I want to be good to my family, to my parents, siblings.

- I want to get good grades.

And the list goes on and on and onnnn…..

Islam teaches us that everyday is a new day. We don’t really have to wait for the 1^st of January to turn our life around. We don’t need to wait for tomorrow. We can change for the better now, today, the next second or so. We drive our lives. We decide when.

But beware; each of us has a time limit and none of us know when except Allah. So if you want to turn on a new leaf, do it now. No one said it’d have to be a new year to start anew.

Happy New Year y’all!

Penulis,

Hud_hud
Medical University of Warsaw