This month was a very special month. April 2022 was the start of the holy month of “Ramadan”, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which is observed by Muslims worldwide through fasting, prayer, reflection and spirituality. With this atmosphere, I prefer to avoid large gatherings, crowds and communicating with the outside world as much as possible, as I would rather focus on accomplishing personal set tasks that may be simple in nature but carry a great deal in value. During Ramadan, it has allowed me to reflect on my personal goals, adjust and reorganize plans in order to ensure continuity and progress, as I get ready to a new life experience, which will start in 3 months’ time.
Even though I have been slightly overwhelmed, I took this month as an opportunity to not only get simple tasks done, but also to start new ones which I have been putting off. I decided to do my best one-step at a time keeping in mind that progress is more important than perfection. I truly believe in “progress over perfection” as there are very little things in life that are ‘perfect’. This mantra which I have adopted, allowed me to maintain balance, ensure steady progress and start working one day at a time towards my goal. To not think about the result has allowed me to enjoy the process and take up any challenges one day at a time wholeheartedly believing in the importance of the small yet impactful progress I am making.
Every day, throughout this month I ensured to wake up with a ‘ready-to-act’ mindset to start what I wrote on my list the night before. Yes, these may be simple tasks, but day after day the small actions I took has allowed in the progress I needed today and preventing an overwhelming tomorrow. At the same time, this experience was self-nourishing which involved a lot of self-learning and situation understanding two aspects, which are fundamental to me.
We learn and we grow, and we are shaped by our unique life experiences. For example, we might have the same job, but, in the end, we can create an entirely different experience. This can be determined by many factors such as our mentality, our actions, our motivation, and much more. What I am trying to say is that everything we do is an experience and everyday counts. Therefore, it is our personal choice to make our life experience as valuable as possible.
Here are the important aspects, which had been important to my journey this month. I hope my reflections will inspire you to take a step back and reflect on your personal journey.
- Sometime when we want to achieve something big, we might at first feel overwhelmed, or doubtful of our ability to achieve it. Therefore, if we start every day by taking one small action towards it, we will realize within a short period we have created a better understanding of the goal and maybe we have come a long way towards achieving it.
- Learn to walk before you run: The feeling we gain by getting things done, even the small aspects. By completing these small tasks, we get a rush of adrenaline, feeling alive; being responsible, committed and productive is a feeling we longue for. By pursuing these small yet impactful steps, we will gain more trust in our ability to do anything we desire as we see it grow by what we do every day.
- Trust the process: Life is a process, a journey with highs and lows, and throughout the process of our lives, we must learn about ourselves through our actions and interactions with other people. We encounter everything for a reason, and we must trust all the steps along the journey.
- Think long-term – execute short-term; experience now