Zaid Ismail's Blog, page 40
March 17, 2021
Destroying the one we love
When we look at ourselves with harshness or pity, we find reason to protect ourselves and others from what we see. We convince ourselves that we are a burden or a curse to those who deserve better than what we have to offer. Or, we convince ourselves that we won’t be able to bear them […]
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March 14, 2021
Claim your humanness
My daughter looked quite distressed when she asked me this question over the weekend. “What drives people to be so cruel to animals, like skinning them alive, or abusing them for profits?” The first thought that came to mind was this. We only lose our humanity when we feel less than human. The truth is, […]
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March 10, 2021
Pause…
Sometimes, when the cacophony of crap crowds your head, you need to remember to pause for long enough to give it a chance to find the door. I often have to remind myself about what I need to stop doing, rather than what I need to actively resolve. Some things increase in intensity and complexity […]
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March 4, 2021
Be purposeful
Be the one who acts with purpose and conviction, and leave greatness to take care of itself. The moment you’re focused on who you’re attracting, or how you appear to others, you’re distracted from your purpose. Be purposeful. And connect with the value of who you are and what you wish to create in the […]
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March 2, 2021
Perspective rules
Perspective defines our reality. Taking the worst from an experience doesn’t diminish the good that it contains. It simply denies us the benefit that is waiting to be experienced. The opposite being true too. Focusing on the benefit reduces the impact of the bad that we experienced. Maintaining a healthy balance between the two keeps […]
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February 28, 2021
Contaminating the self
Self-worth is contaminated when we try to define it by the way we think others perceive us. Whether their perception is correct or not is irrelevant. The fact that their perception has more sway over our self-worth than our perception of ourselves is what determines the difference between a healthy self esteem, and an unhealthy…
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Sabotaging destiny
There are so many memes encouraging gut feelings and instincts to drive or decisions about how to treat others. I wish there would be more making us aware of what creates that feeling in our gut to begin with. The emotion most commonly experienced as a physical sensation is that of fear. And fear, more…
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February 23, 2021
Choose better
We choose what we take from life. Understanding those choices is therefore key to finding peace, or joy. Our choices, even though sometimes painful, are always based on good intentions in that moment of choosing. But, when that good intention is driven by a need to establish our significance rather than connect with the value…
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February 22, 2021
Don’t look the other way
Those who oppress others are often the first to draw attention to the weakness or inadequacy of those that they oppress. They do this to pacify their conscience so that they can avoid the guilt of treating others poorly. The reason why judgement works well in such cases, for both the abuser and the abused,…
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Don’t choose the hard way
The original Afrikaans saying for this is somewhat more impactful. ‘Die wat nie will hoor nie, moet voel.’ Translated, that means that if you don’t want to listen, then you’ll feel the pain. While it may have been regularly used as a taunt by teachers and parents towards misbehaving kids, it is totally apt for…
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