The writer, Asgar Jafferali Dhanji (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania) served as the Secretary-General of the Africa Federation for two – 3-years terms. He served as JIBA Vice Chairman – with a particular passion to raise funds and offer Micro Finance to our Community – for low-income, underprivileged, startups, Business loans, individuals, and small enterprises — thereby giving opportunities to grow economically. He is the founder of Imaan Finance Ltd — the First Islamic Finance Institution in Tanzania. and has also served in Dar es Salaam Jamaat’s Arbitration Committee as well as a Board member of Ebrahim Haji Charitable Hospital – with a particular passion for the project of building the new hospital. He is now a motivational/Inspirational speaker giving regular Saturday Fajr lectures at Dar Imambara.
Perspectives
A
s we approach the New Year, let us try to make one New Year resolution: To change our perspective of life
Focus always on the bigger picture
Small things in life can be upsetting – like someone stealing your parking space! Author Dennis Sharp said, “Why do you dwell on things that don’t matter when there are so many things that do?”
So often, the bigger picture is not visible and gets temporarily overlooked. We become transfixed by small events and fail to step back and look around.
Ask yourself (your time is valuable): “In the bigger scheme of things, is the event that upsets me worth the time and attention?” For instance, is the meeting starting late such a big problem? or is your colleague’s imperfect piece of work so bad?
Well, if you still struggle to keep things in perspective and find yourself becoming stressed and angry over a multitude of things, then always remember that LIFE IS SHORT!
So, how do we avoid stress, anxiety and negative emotions over small stuff:
- Ignoring things that would normally have annoyed you.
- Letting other people win arguments.
- Think calm thoughts – by counting in reverse from ten to zero.
- Don’t invest your precious time in small stuff.
Ask yourself: “Will this matter tomorrow, next week or in a year”?
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