Change your weaknesses into a blessing...

 

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

| In the name of Allah the Most Gracious, The Most Merciful |

*image from Pinterest (theprojecttwins.com)*

Assalamualaikum everyone. I'm super excited to talk about today's topic which is about changing your weaknesses into a blessing. But before that, I wanna ask you one question. Have you ever think of your weaknesses as a blessing in disguise? Because I do. And I just realize that at the age of 23 (turning 24 soon). That idea put a smile on my face. You see, I've always been a terrible overthinker. I used to hate the fact that I've got a hard time sleeping at night, I've got a hard time staying focus in class, and I even ruined my relationship with people because my mind is too loud. Honestly, it makes me feel suffocated and restless. Maybe because I used to bottle things up a lot in the past. But Alhamdulillah, it's no longer that case anymore.

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I read about this statement somewhere before, but too bad I don't remember where I saw it. It says that overthinking is like a pop-up ad on the internet. If you click it then it will bring you to another website that has nothing to do with the previous tab. If you keep on clicking and clicking another ad, then your browser will become crowded with a lot of unrelated topics. Eventually, you started to lose track of your initial concern. This is an analogy of how overthinking works. I wanna share with you how I interpret this analogy. 

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Think of the browser as your mind and the tab as your thoughts. Initially, you're just thinking about a single thing, but suddenly another thought pops up. If you allow your mind to open another tab by clicking it, then it's the same thing as you're allowing your mind to become crowded by a lot of unrelated thoughts, which in turn will burden your mind. Of course, our mind is much more complex than the browser and I'm aware that it's not easy not to "click" the "pop-up ads" in our minds. I didn't say it's easy but it's worth trying, and keep in mind that it didn't happen overnight.

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I notice that the ads that pop up on my phone follow the trend of my searching history. For example, when I open IMANShoppe browsing for books, my phone suddenly flooded with ads about online bookstores. I cannot deny some ads will show up even though you've never searched a thing about it. That makes me realize that we actually have control over the thoughts that pop up in our minds. The pop-up thought you have in your mind is the result of what you've been feeding your minds with. What you see, what you hear, and what you read will determine what will pop up in your mind. Always be mindful of what you feed your mind with. 

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This reminds me of the concept of taqwa and ihsan in Islam. I can't discuss too much about taqwa and ihsan in this entry, because it's quite a long topic. However, I'll still include some part of it since I already mention it (hehehe). Taqwa is being conscious of the sight of Allah upon us. When we know that Allah is watching over us, we will avoid doing anything that is not permissible. Obviously, anything that is not permissible is not good for us, our minds, and qalb (heart). Meanwhile, ihsan is when we're honouring the sight of Allah by doing good deeds. Frankly, good deeds are healthy for our mind and qalb.

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Are you looking for an answer on why I think overthinking is a blessing in disguise? Let me answer that now. The reason why I was able to build this blog is because of my overthinking mind (you can tell from the name of this blog). Every entry in this blog started with a single thought. I'm still "clicking" on the pop-up thought. But this time, the pop-up thought is related to my initial concern. It won't get crowded this time, because it's related, so, I can organize it in one compartment. It teaches me countless precious lessons. This event makes me feel excited to learn more about my weaknesses.

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Back then, I always complained about having a loud mind because it makes me feel miserable. I questioned why did I have to go through it. I think I understand now. Allah didn't give us a test to crush us, instead, Allah gives us a test so we can grow and bloom. Through hardship we find Allah, and through hardship we find ourselves. I think that's it for today's entry. Feel free to send me an email or drop a comment about your opinion regarding this matter. I'd be happy to hear from you too.