⛰️ #5 | An Islamic View on Goal-Setting (and Achieving)

An Islamic View on Goal-Setting (and Achieving)

I don’t know about the rest of you, but summer is usually the time of year I make the most resolutions for myself. Sure, there’s New Years, but we all kind of know that that’s only for writing down lists. Lot’s of them. And shoving them into a drawer.

However, summer, with the school year coming to a close for many (with that comes along final grades…ouch), as well as the beginning of a season that our culture always presents with “new beginnings” or “insane personal transformations,” the feeling kinda rubs off on me, and I’m sure on many others.

So, the common sentiment is that goal-setting is easy, but achieving them is the tough part.

However, this is usually not the case! This can be understood through both reasoning, and more easily, by using an Islamic lens of introspection.

In fact, it is the forming of the goals that hold the most weight in our ability to pursue them.

In order to create a solid goal, the first and foremost motivation behind them should be strong as well. As Muslims, the best way to set goals is choosing those that are in harmony with our life’s purpose, which is clearly stated in the Quran where Allah says:

{ وَمَا خَلَقْتُ ٱلْجِنَّ وَٱلْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ }

“I did not create jinn and humans except to worship Me.” (Adh-Dhariyat 51:56)

Once we spearhead our resolutions with this intention, not only will we feel reassured, but the divine beauty of Barakah comes into play. As we humble ourselves towards our Creator, acknowledging that the successful pursuing of these well-intentioned goals are (1) for His sake and (2) impossible without His help, Allah will bless us with a beautiful journey, contentment, and inshaAllah, results of Khair (goodness).

If you notice, this is the first time that I have mentioned the results of these goals with respect to Islamic goal-setting.

This leads me to my next point…

In Islamic tradition, getting to the goal isn’t the main part.

Huh?

Read on!

Contrary to the workings of this world, where everyone’s success is measured by the number of goals they’re able to knock out (that six-figure salary, 4.0 GPA, owning a home by 25, etc. to infinity), the workings of the Hereafter is very different. Allah measures our successes through how we worked towards our goals. The effort we took. The struggle. The resolve. The persistence.

If Allah was looking for us to achieve the goal of this life in full perfection, we would all be done for. Literally.

Because humans are not perfect. But that is what makes us special. What really matters is the journey we took to reach our goal. Our growth.

The problem is that in our current society, a goal-centric view is almost a set-up for mental failure, ironically. Achieving goals is usually tied to hard-core hyper-focusing, or else it is not worth it, hence our giving up. So, when one does attempt to seriously try, it is done with an overwhelming fear of failure.

When we approach our resolutions with an Islamic-centric focus, we innately also accept that the true result is not necessarily achieving the goal itself, for a failure of it may also be for Khair. Rather, the actual success is the effort itself.

Allah is the only one with control over the outcome, and we only have control of our efforts.

And that, my friends, is the answer.