Don't Let 'Em Steal Your Joys! T. Redfern
People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
Author Kent Keith (source RecoveryEmporium.com)
My grandmother used to always say “Don’t let ‘em steal your joy” and that phrase has kept me positive and moving many days when it seemed like someone really was trying to steal my joy. It reminds me of a major life lesson No one can take from you what you are not willing to give away.
As the wonderful words of wisdom above have detailed no matter what you do there will always be someone somewhere who may be unhappy with it, may not like you for it, may want to tear it down, and may want to cause you harm. Don’t let them steal your joy, do what Allah swt has inspired you to do and do it to best of your capabilities keeping in mind it was never about them anyway.
Success Strategy #3- Don’t let them steal your joy! Strive to do good for the sake of Allah and Success will be yours!
Commit to a lifetime of learning!
Teacher~Tamara
teachertamara
MashaAllah, great post Teacher Tamara. Striving to do good for the sake of Allah really does come down to action according to His guidance rather than our feelings and giving our best regardless of others’ thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, speech, and behaviors about it.
I’ve come to see surahs al-Falaq and an-Nas as addressing others’ thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, speech, and behaviors that can be projected towards us to dampen our light and rain on our parade…al-Falaq regarding the evil effects of our and others’ actions, from evil that gathers, from envy…an-Nas from the whispering and misguidance that can come through other people as well as the jinn.
As I read the piece, the surah that summed it all up for me was surah al-Kauthar…the very first ayah speaks of abundance and with this I associate joy. Allah ta’ala tells us the best response to that abundance and what defeats the enemy, the naysayer: so worship your Lord and sacrifice.
Yes, do it anyway, sacrifice in the sense of giving of the gifts entrusted to us for the betterment of all and sacrifice in the sense of giving up the concern about and reference to others’ dramas, shortcomings, vile and venom that encourages us to dampen our own light.
JazaakiLlahu khair for the lift