Sometimes as I am reflecting back through the years that have gone by, one thing that always stands out is how limited the options were back then for anything that we wanted to purchase. Whether it be the clothes that you wanted to buy or your weekly groceries you needed to shop for, it always was the case that there were limited options available and perhaps that made it rather easier to pick the one that seemed the best and move on. Ironically, the product that was the most purchased one was owing to the fact that it being “most popular” and “most sough after” gave it that much needed validity that it HAS to be THE BEST!

Fast Forward to the world we live in today, this historical trend has somewhat started to fade in and out as the days go by. Today, when you go to buy your groceries, the amount of variety or options that are available to you is beyond what one could have fathomed couple decades ago. You go in to buy just bread and eggs for your breakfast however the variety in the breads and eggs available in the grocery store just makes this whole simple purchase a lot more time consuming and harder. And then, you never really just end up buying what you had intended to buy in the first place. As you walk down the isle to get to your intended item, along the way you see so many “other” items which catch your attention easily and you end up putting 10 additional “non-essential” items in your cart when your intention was to just get the 2 “essential” items. Parents who go into “Babies R Us”, may be just to buy a small crib and probably a blankie set for their little prince or princess, are faced with the dilemma of choosing from the whole host of options that are available to them in that store. Even picking up a “sippy cup” these days becomes a huge task especially when there are entire walls and sections dedicated just to the variety of sippy cups that are available out there for parents to choose from!

The reason I give all these examples is because every day of our life we are faced with similar “variety of options” when it comes to making decisions for oneself. You may have mapped out a simple goal in your mind and perhaps want to just get that 1 simple easy thing done, like finish reading the last 3 pages of a book, or finish writing down your daily journal for that day, however as you are trying your best to get to and finish off these activities, you are faced with so many “other” distractions that these simple tasks keep piling up and eventually start to seem enormous. Decisions about your own personal life and career are even more crucial and hence you cannot afford to get distracted by the
“other non-essential options” that are easily accessible to you. It is very important to note – In every situation, YOU HAVE the ability to choose. The Almighty has given you the ability to THINK BEFORE YOU ACT! He has given you the POWER to discern what is essential vs what is not. It may be as simple as choosing to pick up a fruit instead of a sugar cookie to crave your sweet tooth! Or it could be as significant as thinking long-term about your legacy and choosing to lead a life full of honesty, sincerity and compassion so you can reap the rewards life-long and even after instead of giving into the daily temptations of wrongdoings to get “instant gratification”.

Our beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW stated that you are a reflection of the 5 people you keep company with. Your behaviors, your thoughts, your actions, your attitude are heavily influenced by who you choose to “hang around” with everyday. If you spend time with those that always have a positive and honest outlook towards life, always value trust, integrity and respect and always want to follow the path of right guidance, you will be following along in the same path and pushing yourself towards a more successful, meaningful, impactful and prosperous life not only in this world, but the next one as well. On the flip side, if you were to surround yourself with people who are always negative, hateful, derogatory, dis-respectful, dishonest, and whose only goal in life is to live every day just selfishly thinking about themselves, then it won’t be long enough when you find yourself pushed over the edge and down into a deep dark corner returning from where would become seemingly challenging over-time.

Surround yourself with people that talk about ideas and vision, NOT “people”! Don’t follow people or trends blindly because everyone around you is doing that. Pause and ask the question: What good will come out of this blind faith? LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP!

Remember: Always have a long-term vision/goal and plan your daily life in a way that helps you get to that vision in a steady and consistent way by making the RIGHT CHOICES. Without that long-term vision, it will become harder to give PURPOSE and MEANING to your life TODAY!

To end this post, I will quote Aristotle:

CHOICE, NOT CHANCE, WILL DETERMINE YOUR DESTINY!