Hello ladies!
How are you doing today? Take a moment to access how you feel, take note of why you opened this message. I feel good at this moment, Alhamdulillah. However, if you had been asked the same question on Friday afternoon, the answer won’t be the same. I had a terrific week! I will be sharing some moments from the past week with you today.
While I published the first edition of the Skilled Muslimah last week Sunday, I was also been interviewed by a friend about Beyond the Stereotypes community, my school life, Tech and my other interests for an Islamic magazine. I had a great time answering her questions as they helped me reflect, notice some patterns and make adjustments. A question that stood out for me was “how do you create a balance between all your activities?”. I didn’t have to think twice, I told her my schedule helps create a balance. It shows how I spend my time, who I spend my time with and what tasks I work on.
A flexible schedule is a lifesaver but that isn’t the only reason why I create schedules. I love routines because I crave control over my time. I create daily schedules because they prepare me for the next thing. I know what to expect and how to act accordingly. Let’s take a step back to my experience last week. I experienced some uncomfortable moments on Wednesday. Alhamdulilah, I am fine. While I tried to minimise its impact so I can get back to my schedule, I also had to deal with the emotions that came with it. I couldn’t control when my mind wandered off to when I got off a relatively static bike to avoid being crushed by a fuel tanker. This wasn’t an easy task because I couldn’t schedule a moment to work on these emotions, I couldn’t set a timer and slay them in twenty minutes. This is something I am learning to do, sitting with my emotions. We can build better roads and drive responsibly to reduce accidents but we can’t predict when they happen.
Being a Nigerian, specifically a Nigerian student implies that you understand what it means to live in an unstructured environment. Impromptu school activities and not being able to predict when you get to work because of traffic sucks. These are things you can’t control. To survive and thrive in uncomfortable situations, the best thing you can do is control how you react. Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. You are in control of your reactions so get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
With love,
Umaynah
Get comfortable with being uncomfortable, thank you❤