COVID-19: Tough Times Don't Last. Tough People Do.

According to one article posted by Yuval Noah Hariri ( a renowned historian) said this in financial times article: "When choosing between alternatives, we should ask ourselves not only how to overcome the immediate threat, but also what kind of world we will inhabit once the storm passes. Yes, the storm will pass, humankind will survive, most of us will still be alive — but we will inhabit a different world."

The thing about life is that it never provides answers, they can only come from us. Life simply provides the problems that force us to grow and arrive at solutions to help us deal with the deeper and more involved problems that come later. We should start learning our lessons now, they only intensify if they are not learnt; if we are still here, we still have lessons to learn. When it hurts. Observe, life is trying to teach us something. Everything happens for a reason to see the bigger picture.

Indeed there is ease with hardship. Most certainly, there is ease with hardship. [Quran: 94:5 & 6]

The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers. Life is not about negative circumstances that happen to us, it is about what we do with golden opportunities hidden within. With the right mentality, problems drive us, they force us to find the opportunity for growth in the experience, to ask ourselves the question; where to from here?

If I ask you to see outside of your window right now, what do you see? 

I see a world where:

• Most of us have so much time at disposal
• Most of us are around our loved ones
• Most of have access to basic necessities
• Most of us are able to make decisions
• Most of us have some funds saved up as well

Now, what if I ask you, what can you not see from this window? 

I see a world:

• Where most prepared will thrive
• Where most disciplined will win
• Where most planned with outlast
• Where long-term thinkers will outthink others
• Where most productive will get the most of everything

We should always remember that Allah only sends adversity we can bear, this is His promise... And we have to do, what we have to do to prepare for it!

If we want to experience a life of victory, we must develop endurance to overcome adversity. That means having the stamina to stand through any storm that life brings in our way, as well as the tenacity to triumph even in moments of great turbulence. Tough situations build strong people. We must be unshakeable even in moments of uncertainty as said by Abraham Maslow "What one can be, one must be!" Anyone can achieve success in life despite adversities by applying the following:

Have the pragmatic mindset

A mindset, generally, is a belief system that directs the way we act, react and handle situations. A point to note here is that mindsets are not only beliefs but beliefs that govern our actions and reactions. We start with our mindset because we are in constant dialogue with ourselves. In this way how and what we think are the most powerful elements that impact our life. Our thinking influences how we see the world, what we pay attention to, what we feel, and how we behave. If we want to make any change or improvement to our life we must first start with examining our thoughts. Our thoughts are essential; they frame the triumphs or tragedies of our life.

Getting past adversity requires a change in our belief about challenges. It is not what happens to us, but how we respond to it that is important here. Excuses are the lies we tell ourselves when we’re too afraid of the future. Whatever we tell our mind will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Excuses will always keep us in a limited place. Overcoming adversity is impossible when we’re making excuses. We conquer excuses by having the courage to step out and do what seems impossible.

Whoever has faith in Lord, He guides his heart, and Lord has knowledge of all things. [Quran 64:11] Indeed my Lord is with me. He will guide me. [Quran: 26:62]

Have patience with faith

When we have this positive mindset we understand with certainty, we become able to see the opportunities and possibilities that are available to us everywhere we look. It allows us to explore ourselves and tap into the core gift that we’ve been blessed with, and then share that gift with the world.

To have faith is to convince our self to embrace change. We can either live in faith or live in fear; however, faith and fear cannot coexist. When our desire to overcome becomes greater than our fear, we’ll overcome adversity naturally. Fear will always attempt to immobilize us, while faith is designed to energize us.

Be patient through whatever may visit you. [Quran: 94: 5 & 6]

Hope is the best thing

Knowing that Allah is on our side, enables us to move forward doing the work we’ve been blessed to be good in and allows us to surrender the details to Allah. Allah will provide for us when we trust in him, and that knowledge alleviates us of stress and worry. We understand that we are not acting alone, Allah is constantly with us, he is strengthening our capacity and sending us others to support and aid us.

Do not lose hope nor be sad. [Quran 3:139] And whoever believes in Allah, he will provide him sustenance from a place he had never expected; and whoever relies on Allah – then Allah is Sufficient for him. [Quran 65:2&3]

Plan, Prioritise & Perform

Planning is key to success. It gives us direction, a path and makes us feel like we have something to aim for. The well-known phrase 'if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail', attributed to Benjamin Franklin, shows great insight. What's great about this is that we know that by making a good, well-thought-out plan, we are more likely to succeed.

A clear plan will help us think through what we want to achieve, and to know what we need to get there. Being clear on what steps we need to take will reduce overwhelm and enable us to follow through on specific actions.

Essentially, a plan should facilitate a commitment to take action, and it requires a strategic approach. A good plan will not only help us be more productive, but it will also enable us to embark on new ventures and to make significant changes in life.

We need to set priorities on both goals and actions. A goal is what we hope to achieve; actions are how we achieve our goals. We first ask: "What needs doing? What results do we hope to get?" And then, "What must we do to achieve that end? How are we going to do it?"

Setting priorities is a specific kind of decision making Important Now" with two dimensions: value and time. It's not only deciding what to do (what's most valuable and important), but what to do first (what's most important now), and how much time to give to it.

Setting priorities as individuals and as an organization helps us aim our limited resources at the most critical problems. By so doing, we'll increase our impact, be more efficient and more credible, reach more people, help prevent crises, enjoy our work more, minimize risk and uncertainty, plan more realistically, keep our work up to date with changing needs, and use our resources more wisely.

“That man can have nothing but what he strives for; that (fruit of) his striving will soon come in sight. Then will he be rewarded with a reward complete” [Quran 53:39-41]

Have an attitude of gratitude

He disposed the sun and the moon for you, constant [in their courses], and He disposed the night and the day, and He gave you all that you had asked Him. If you enumerate Allah’s blessings, you will not be able to count them. Indeed man is most unfair and ungrateful![Quran 14:33-34]

To begin I’d like to preface with the idea that gratitude is a choice, not a result. I hear all the time that it is so easy to be grateful when we've made it to the top. It is easy to be grateful when our career, mission, relationships and finances are all going exceptionally well. Yes, that is true but contrary to popular belief it is also easy to be grateful during a time of struggle or during a building phase of life where we are trying to improve in all sectors. In fact, gratitude is the key factor in achieving ultimate success and happiness.

Tony Robbins once said “Success, without fulfilment is the ultimate failure” Developing an attitude of gratitude is essential to a fulfilled life and therefor a successful life.

The practice of gratitude has a great positive impact on mental and physical health, relationships, happiness, self-growth, self-esteem, emotional resilience and productivity. The truth is gratitude has a compound effect in our life. The more we practise being grateful, the more in our life will show up for us to be grateful for.

David Steindl-Rast, in his Ted Talk on happiness proposes a question: ‘Does happiness cause one to be grateful or does being grateful create happiness?’ He concludes his talk explaining that gratitude is the sole creator of happiness. We all know people who have faced devastating adversity and challenge but have managed to persevere with gratitude and happiness.

“Opportunities, relationships, even money flowed my way when I learned to be grateful no matter what happened in my life.” — Oprah Winfrey 

All of our days are filled with micro and macro ups and downs and life is constantly testing our abilities, our strength and most importantly our perseverance. Our attitude, focus, and level of gratitude are in direct harmonization with our level of happiness. We cannot be happy without being grateful. Whether we are grateful for a good meal, a smiling stranger, or a brand new car all happiness is stemmed from being genuinely grateful for all opportunities, people, experiences and challenges. 

“Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, oh which all men have some.” — Charles Dickens

'If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]' [Quran 14:7]

The Takeaway

Life can get us down, but we can pick ourselves back up. There are times when we understand and times when we simply have to trust that some things happen for reason. We must learn and not be limited by the experiences of our lives. We are strong, and we all have a dreamer inside of us. Anything is possible if we are willing to persevere. In every adversity lies the seed of an equal or greater opportunity. Where victims see adversity, extreme achievers see opportunity.

When things go wrong as they sometimes will. When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high. And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit. Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is strange with its twists and turns. As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure comes about. When he might have won had he stuck it out;

Don't give up though the pace seems slow. You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out. The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell just how close you are. It may be near when it seems so far;

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit. It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

(John Greenleaf Whittier)