Monday Monday Monday!

So on Saturday night, while convincing Sharjeel that he should go to gym with me regularly, we decided that we will go for a morning jog/walk on Monday. What happened was that he tried to explain to me why gym wasn't such a good idea (*yawn*) and I, who usually listens to almost anything he says, did not budge. Well, cause I knewhe was wrong, I also knew that I had more reasons to work out than slim down.

Anyway, so while convincing me, he tried to be smart with me, said: 'If you go for jogging for one week with me in the morning, I will join the gym with me'. Now, the reasons I wanted to start working out at the gym, in the evening, by paying a fee, were served a thousand times better if I went to jogging in the morning with Sharjeel! So what did I say? That's right.

And on Sunday night, I made arrangements to sleep early. And for some of us, that's a risky thing to do, specially those who aren't that good with telling their minds to not screw with them. And so it happened. What followed was a sleepless night. And because I had woken up pretty late on the Sunday, this time is lasted till Morning. Though at 3 am I had texted him that I am not coming, at 5-ish I told him that yes, we are going. And so we did.

We had a great time. He had brought with himself Qasas-ul-Anbia by Ibn-e-Katheer and he read it to me after we had done jogging and had a sprint. I was very, very satisfied with my morning and till now had no plan of not going to work. At eight am, when it was time to get ready for work. I quit. I decided I hadn’t slept for the night, and had worked out in the morning, I decided I needed to sleep, take a day off. But, I was not to slack. I was to wake up with still some sleep deficit, so I could fall asleep easily Monday night. And I would go to NADRA office and get the process for my new NIC, the one with the beard, complete. And so I did that. I had a wonderful day! I made two trips to the place on foot, and thought, man we programmers don’t do anything physical on an average day! I got barley flour, so folks would eat that. And the nice walks in the sun surely had a soothing effect on the mind!

Thank Allah for that, and thank Sharjeel too. I hope this continues everyday.

Quote, Unquote

Double Bluff:

Said Watson to Holmes, “Is it wise –
Such false whiskers when hunting for spies?”
Said the sleuth, “I’m afraid
You’re as dense as Lestrade:
I’m disguised as myself in disguise.”

– R.J.P. Hewison, Punch, Nov. 21, 1951

source: http://www.futilitycloset.com/2012/06/06/double-bluff/ 

How to not do what you love

Today I was reading a really good blog post, titled The Three-day Monk Syndrome. It was about how when we dearly want to do something, we start if off with great dedication and passion, effervescing with energy like poured coke, and then lay it down flat after a few days.
The post argued that it's like being a monk, i.e. giving it your best shot and everything, but only for a few days.

We all have had our monk-periods, and we all know that despite we get quick, even encouraging results in those periods, somehow those activities never really hit home. Why does it happen? Because important thing is to stick with something for longer, and I don't even need to argue about it. But then, how to that? Well, for that, you need to stop being the monk, and, like the article says, say your good twenty minute prayer everyday! (metaphor alert!)

I am not going to reiterate what the post said about preventing the syndrome, but I will copy one thing that I absolutely loved, one of the points said:

Remind yourself of what you want. You’re doing the activity (exercise, language learning, meditation) presumably because you want to do it. When we stop doing something, it’s because we’ve forgotten that we wanted it. We start to fear it for some reason, and try not to think about it. Instead, think about it, but remind yourself of why you started doing it in the first place. That might mean reading some motivational articles, watching some videos that motivate you, looking at some pics that motivate you, referring to a vision in your head.

 That there, the underlines part, is what hit home for me. When you were beginning your endeavour, did you really want something? Or was just a whim? You saw somebody do it and thought it was cool? Or did you see someone have something, and decided you wanted it? Well, do you still want it? Remind yourself, you want it! It's not a chore!

source: http://zenhabits.net/3-day-monk/

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When we stop doing something, it’s because we’ve forgotten that we wanted it.

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Lonely, Not!

When I foresee something difficult, or start to indulge in depressive thoughts, and I say to myself "I have no one to turn to!" and just before I begin to worry, a voice in my heart says, "Don't be deluded, you will always have Allah to turn to!".

Alhamdulillah! Thank God for that voice!

Islamic Pick-up lines

Okay so the idea is nothing new. We've had numerous bloggers and comedians come up with the cheesiest of lines for our brothers in deen to say to their sisters in deen, so they don't remain sisters any more. And it so happens, today in the shower, in the half-asleep (more than half, actually) state that I was in, these lines just started flowing in :)

But these are for the already picked-up 'sisters' than they are for proposing marriages:

• When I looked at you, I almost thought the fajr time had passed!

• You look so pure, I feel I should make wuzu before meeting you!

I think I should post these for now, and let more come as they do. Note to self: Shower more!

How to do anything

Lewis Carroll's guide to doing anything:

'Begin at the beginning,' the King said gravely, 'and go on till you come to the end: then stop.'

— Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll.

And this, though the King said it to the rabbit regarding some verses it has to read out, holds true for almost every thing in this world.

I have found this to be the best advice that can be given to anyone about anything. It remains as the most effective way to do anything. 

If it doesn't offend, it isn't arrogance

“It’s quite exciting,” said Sherlock Holmes, with a yawn. “What happened next?”

— A Study in Scarlet, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.