how good is good?

"I want to be a better muslim / muslimah this year, inshaAllah".

If this is what your new year's resolution sounds like, I guess we're gonna need to improvise on that.

I love reading zenhabit and some other productivity blogs. And so often they talk about starting small, and be consistent with it. This year, I learnt that another good idea about changes, instead of setting goals, why not create habits.

Goals are temporary, habits are going to last.

So, list down some habits you want to instill in yourself and work on it! Try a month, you will feel the empowering feeling of being in control of yourself when you succeed. Remember, always start small :-) or you'll burn out quickly. Starting small, and being consistent - sounds familiar? 

Daripada Aisyah r.ha., Nabi s.a.w. bersabda: "Wahai manusia lakukanlah amalan mengikut keupayaan kamu. Sesungguhnya Allah tidak jemu sehinggalah kamu jemu. Amalan yang paling Allah sukai ialah amalan yang berterusan walaupun sedikit."

(Riwayat al-Bukhari dan Muslim) 

That day will come when you get to scratch them off the list, you've accomplish it and it's going to stay with you forever. Nice, huh? And another wrong thing about the above mentioned phrase is that it's not measurable. How good is good? How much better is actually "better" for you? Let's be more accurate, because only when you have measures you can tell if you have succeeded or not in achieving your target. So, instead of saying I wanna be a better person, list down what you mean by "better"?. Anyway, I'm sure you get my point kan.

Whatever your plan is, I wish you all the best, may this be a great start for us all. And here's something for those who find themselves easily distracted, cheers!