Zaid Ismail's Blog, page 19
May 29, 2022
Raging for love
Nothing destroys more than ingratitude, and ingratitude for the self is expressed through self-loathing. But self-loathing is disguised in many ways, the most common of which is anger. Anger is a defence mechanism that distracts attention away from what we feel inadequate about. It demands that we be taken seriously when we have no reason …
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May 26, 2022
Maybe tomorrow…
Just like tomorrow is not guaranteed, neither is our next breath. Each moment taken for granted is a moment lost. Each loved one taken for granted is a heartache earned. Each abandoned resolution made after tasting loss or visiting death’s door is food for the seeds of hypocrisy and self-loathing within. The victim mindset turns …
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May 25, 2022
Keep up, if you can
Like they say, love is not two people looking at each other, it’s two people looking in the same direction. What happens when the one is looking ahead, while the other is looking behind? One common failing in relationships is that while one partner views growth as the amazing things that they can achieve together, …
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May 24, 2022
I see me in you
We judge others the way we judge ourselves. The less aware we are of our self-judgement, the more rigid we will be in insisting on the accuracy of our assumptions about others. The more compassionate and understanding we are in our efforts to improve ourselves, the more space we’ll allow for others to recover from …
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May 23, 2022
Internal struggle, outward joy
The martyr within, breathes life into the angel without. A rare few live their lives outwardly, as they feel inwardly about themselves. The need to hide our shame from the world is born from feeling ashamed of who we are, and not because of what others think of us. The opinions of others only matter …
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May 22, 2022
The shame within
Good advice sometimes feels like a threat because it prompts us to acknowledge a flaw that we feel ashamed of. It’s like putting in your best effort to create a piece of art, and then having someone come along and innocently suggest that you should’ve tried this or that to enhance it further. No matter …
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May 21, 2022
Dishonesty, the destroyer
The profundity of the verse from the Qur’an that says that if you are grateful, Allah will increase you, resonates strongly through every theme of life. It is through gratitude that good is created, harm is kept at bay, and we are connected to what feeds our soul. Therefore, what destroys good must be the …
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May 20, 2022
Who’s doing you in?
This is a phenomenon that I encountered regularly in the corporate world. When your performance appraisal is reviewed against your targets only, but all mitigating circumstances are dismissed, understand that they’re not interested in rating your performance, they’re interested in finding someone to blame for their lack of competence, or lack of support. If, however, …
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Dream a little dream…
In a world of cynics, it’s easy to lose sight of the power that you have to turn your dreams into reality. Your efforts become more daunting when faced with an endless barrage of naysayers who only see your potential through their own fears. Sincere advisors are often driven by fear, and thus focus on …
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May 11, 2022
The shame within
You know that awkwardness that you feel when someone says something that you know is right but you’re not ready to hear it? Or when a sincere advisor or significant other points out something you’re doing that isn’t helpful or good for you, and you get defensive about it? Those are hints at the shame …
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