Change Yourself, Be Changed (Change Yourself, Be Changed - Don’t Change Yourself, Don’t Be Changed)

In his book "Shortcut for a Better Life," Ziad Rayess suggests that change is the key to success and personal growth. If we want more than we have now, we need to become better than we are now. Life responds to merit, not need, and we must sow the seeds of our own success by continuously developing ourselves. In this article, we will explore Rayess's ideas on personal growth and self-improvement and how they can lead us to a more prosperous and fulfilling life.

The Path to a Better Life through Personal Growth and Development:

In his book "Shortcut for a Better Life", the writer Ziad Rayess mentions: You can get more than you have now if you become better than you are now.

This is the challenge. In other words: as long as you don’t change your situation, you’ll get the same result. If you do what you’re used to doing, you’ll just get what you’re used to getting.

It’s important for us to look to the rules of life so we can benefit from them. Life responds to merit, not need. Life was not designed to provide everything we need; life was created to give us what we deserve.

Of course, everything happens by the will of Almighty God, but God created the causes and rules of life. You reap what you sow, and if you don’t sow, you won’t reap. You can’t go to the ground and demand the harvest. The ground will reply, “Don’t tell me about what you need—give me seeds.”

The land requires seeds, planting, watering, care, management, and continuous development for you to get your harvest. It also requires patience, because what is planted today will be harvested tomorrow. You must wait for harvest time.

Change is a continuous chain. If you walk for an hour every day, moving your body will affect your health. On the other hand, it requires food, water, and rest. The demand for change might inspire you to read a book, and if you read a book, reading will inspire you to develop some of your skills. Each focus will lead to another. In the same way, deficiency affects the other areas of your life.

To change for the better, you must know where you are and where you want to go.

Don’t try to trick yourself, even if you’ve tricked others.

Ask yourself if you have enough commitment to get where you want to go.

Make sure to make a plan, so you don’t end up part of others’ plans that don’t align with what you want for yourself.

Remember that income is not that distant from personal growth, except in some cases where luck has played a large role, and as long as you don’t improve yourself, you’ll go back to where you were before.

There is an old saying that goes, “If all the money in the world was gathered and divided equally among all humans, the money would go back to the same people.”

Success is something you attract, not something you pursue. Successful people look at where they’re sitting now. To achieve success, you must work on developing yourself. One of the most important questions you have to ask yourself when you’re applying to a job is not what you’ll get, but where you’ll get to and what you’ll become.

True happiness doesn’t lie in getting something, but rather in becoming something.

It’s important to learn how to develop yourself consistently, and if you want to earn above average income, you have to develop yourself to be above average. This will be very beneficial in all areas of your life.

The following are some simple examples:

1. Change the time you wake up in the morning.
2. Pay attention to your handshake and improve it so you show greater interest in the other person.
3. Improve the way you smile at others, and pay more attention to others than you normally did before.
4. Become more excited about winning than you normally were before.
5. Greet people standing up.
6. Accompany your guests as far as possible when saying goodbye.
7. Don’t exclude anyone from the laws of respect.
8. Keep in touch with your family.
9. Review what you read every day.
10. Set aside time to read the Quran and invoke God, even for just five minutes every day.

There are also divine laws pertaining to the relationship between the worshipper and God. God says, “Whoever is mindful of Allah, He will make a way out for them, and provide for them from sources they could never imagine. And whoever puts their trust in Allah, then He ˹alone˺ is sufficient for them” (Quran 65:2–3, trans. Mustafa Khattab). The Almighty said, “Indeed, Allah would never change a people’s state ˹of favour˺ until they change their own state ˹of faith˺” (Quran 13:11, trans. Mustafa Khattab). Therefore, people must change their unacceptable behaviors and rectify their violations of religious values that Almighty God has prescribed for them.

When we’re frustrated, it often comes from looking for an excellent job and status with a large income, while not being an excellent or exceptional person.

Finally, one of the lessons people can draw on to become richer and happier is that they should be consistently working on personal development.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, investing in personal development is essential for a richer and happier life. Ziad Rayess reminds us that change is a continuous chain, and each focus feeds into the next. By taking small steps to improve ourselves every day, we can attract success and happiness. Personal growth is not only beneficial for our financial status but also for our relationships and spiritual well-being. As we sow the seeds of our own success and become better people, we will reap the rewards of a more fulfilling and prosperous life.