40Days to transform my life!

Feel like you are letting yourself down? Know you can do better but aren't sure how? Make great resolutions but don't follow through? Sounds just like me. Which is why I am resolving to commit 40Days to making a lasting difference to my life, insha Allah. This blog is the online home of my personal 40Day Challenge - you can join me or simply follow my progress (or lack of it!).

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Dreaming of a different me

Bismillah

Asalaamu alaikum warahmatullah, my dear sisters and fellow travellers.

Our life coach at SISTERS Magazine, Sayeda Habib, advises us to visualise the life that we want, in great detail.
I won't bore you with the details of my dream here but I will share with you some of the central characteristics of the 'dream me'.

"I am a Muslimah who honours her relationship with her Lord, who honours her deen.
I am a woman who honours the body that her Lord gave her, nurturing it with the right food, keeping it healthy, building its strength and stamina for a life of vigour, passion and service to others.
I am a wife who honours her relationship with her man, who nurtures it, never taking it for granted.
I am a mother who honours her bond with her children, giving freely of herself, taking her role seriously.
I am a family member and friend who honours the code of family and sisterhood, who takes time to be there, to remember, to share and to listen.
I am a colleague who honours her responsibilities within the team, who respect her team mates and is true to her word.
I am a human being with honour and integrity.
I am a Muslim who is mindful of all of the above."

That is the 'dream me'.

Now it's your turn to dream of a different you. What is she like? Tell us here or tell it to yourself but make it real in your mind and write it down, read over it. Let the vision fill you with hope and excitement about the journey to come.

Of course, nothing is possible without the help of Allah ta'ala and we depend on Him for success - but it starts here, with a wish, with an intention, with a du'a.

Get to know the 'dream you', give her a hug - give her my salaam. Tell her 'marhaban'...

Na'ima B.

PS> To read the article on visualisation and achieving balance in your life, click here.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

40Days to transform - can I do it? Can you?

Bismillah

Ok, so what began as a germ of an idea yesterday has sprouted already!

Here's the deal: I am tired of stress, I am tired of chaos, I am tired of letting myself go and letting myself down. Over the years, I have tried to make so many changes. I have made lists and schedules and programmes and, after a week, sometimes less, I am back to square one, shaking my head at yet another failed attempt at self-improvement.

Well, this time I am trying something different. I have decided to give myself 40 days to make 10 resolutions and stick to them - and, to ensure I do, I have decided to make it public. That's right, the resolutions, the motivations, the daily reports and insights - and the photo evidence!

I will be enlisting the help and support of qualified, experienced sisters to mentor me - sisters with strong iman, life coaches, health and fitness experts, experts on parenting, wise women - to guide me and keep me motivated. I will be reading and sharing wisdom from Islamic teachings and others, from the Internet and SISTERS Magazine. But I am also counting on the support of you, the readers.

But hey, how about we do this together? If you are anything like me, you know what you want to change but may sometimes lack the motivation or stick-with-itness to make your resolutions truly lasting.

So how about we do this: I'll show you mine and you show us yours. I'll share my 10 habits and you can choose 10 of your own. Then we'll meet here, every day for 40 days to encourage and to remind each other, to commiserate over our little failures and celebrate our successes.

I really want to do this and would appreciate your companionship on this journey of transformation, due to start on Friday the 1st of April bi'idhnillah. In my next post, I will share my 10 resolutions with you. Hopefully, you will have decided on 10 of your own and will be willing to share them :)

“Truly, Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.” (Quran 13:11)

I'm ready for a change, a real, lasting one this time. With the aid of Allah ta'ala and the support of our sisters, let's strive for 40Days to transform our lives, 10 habits at a time.
Who's in?

Wasalaam

Na'ima B. Robert