On my bedside table lies a Qur’an, a Bible and The Grail Message, not because I am a particularly religious person (I am more spiritual) but because these books contain instructions designed to help us live a mindful and purposeful life. These books share one basic but powerful message; you – and only you – control your destiny.
In a Hadith, it is mentioned that Dua has the ability to change one’s destiny; Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”; and The Grail Message explains that our words, thoughts and deeds have consequences, so if we speak, think or act in a certain way, then we must be willing to live with the consequences.
For many years now, I have [obsessively] researched into the lives of almost every documented human being that has made a tremendous impact in our society (please don’t interpret this to mean rich and famous, many historical figures were poor or not famous) and their core values all seem to be the same; that anything imaginable is achievable generally through positive thinking/ focus, resilience, consistency, and hard work. Even tyrants were hard workers who focused on their goals!
A lot of people will dispute this hypothesis and ask if those who found themselves to be down on their luck deliberately created/ chose that type of life, and the answer is that certain situations are predestined to occur in your life, but it is the decisions you make every single time that shapes the outcome of your future. Kind of like a choose-your-adventure type of game. To ensure you consistently make the right decisions, you need always remind yourself that nothing lasts forever – neither bad nor good times – because the sun will always rise, seasons will change, and life will go on. There is nothing you can do about this except change the way you perceive these situations – both the good and the bad. You need to school your mind to always think positive thoughts and once you can make this mindset shift, your brain will learn to find opportunities in every situation; this is how good luck is created.
It is important that I mention that before you can find opportunities in situations, you need to first know what the end goal is. What are you trying to achieve? What kind of future do you envisage for yourself and the people around you? Do you have high goals and aspirations or are you looking to live an unremarkable and uninspiring life? Are you looking to make an impact and create a legacy or are you content with just going with the flow? This is where a lot of people struggle. Did you know that when people do not recognise or take opportunities, it is simply because their minds are unable to conceive of the potential greatness of the outcome, not to talk of working towards it. Once anyone is able to recognise the power that they have over materialising their dreams, they become unstoppable.
I decided to write this article because one of my yearly rituals is creating a vision board, where I place visual representations of everything I want for that year. Looking at this board every day reminds me of my goal, and this helps me make conscious and unconscious moves towards achieving them. Sometimes these goals spill over to the next year, but as long as I am able to visualise them and speak affirmatively about meeting them, I am able to manifest all of them.
Imagine my shock when I found out many people, even the ones I call friends, do not do this? Like, have I not been a positive influence? How do you even manage to remember your goals and celebrate milestones? As this year starts, I am encouraging everyone to take control of their destiny; decide what kind of life you want (dream very big), visualise it, speak and think positively about it, and then work towards it. When you meet hurdles, keep going. Remind yourself that pain is temporary. You have not come this far just to come this far. Success is not for quitters, and you are not a quitter; you were born for greatness.
Remember, you are made in the likeness of the creator of this earth, the one who created the heavens and the earth with just one word, placed here to have dominion over everything on this earth. Therefore, you have inherited the power to create and to destroy and whatever power you nurture will shape your destiny.
