Balance e Book

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Transcript of Balance e Book

CONTENTSPg

Contents 2

Glossary 4

Introduction 5

How to use this book. 5

Why work 6

Islam, Iman, Ihsan. 7

How much time do you spend at work? 10

Hierarchy of Needs 14

Cycle of Behaviour 17

Your values = your career. 21

Work Faith Balance 25

Goals, RPM 26

Willpower 30

Giving Thanks 33

One final thought 37

So what‟s next? 39

About the Author 40

WORKOUTSPg

1. Where am I? 11

2. Motivators. 12

3. Relationship with work 18

4. Value prioritisation 23

5. RPM 29

6. Willpower 32

7. Gratitude to Allah 34

8. Consolidation 36

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© Copyright 2010 by Working Muslim

First Edition, 1431 AH/2010 CE

© Copyright 2010 by Saiyyidah Zaidi

Edited by I Stone

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced in any language, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,

mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without

the express permission of the copyright owner.

Printed in London, United Kingdom.

Dedicated to my husband for helping me to start

completing my deen, and to my children who teach me

something new about leadership and management every

day.

Also, dedicated to those who attended the leadership

seminar in July 2010, days I will never forget for the rest of

my life. JazakhAllah khair for your support and for pushing

me to boundaries that I did not know I was capable of.

May Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala give success in this world

and the Akhirah to everyone who downloads and reads

this book.

Ameen.

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GLOSSARY

Allah The greatest and most inclusive of the names of God.

Alhamdulillah All praise is due to Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala,.

Balance a state of equilibrium, equality between the totals of

the credit and debit sides of an account.

Bismillah "In the name of Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala, the Most

Kind, the Most Merciful.” This is also the first verse of Surah

Al-Fatehah of the Holy Qur‟an.

Dhuhr The second obligatory prayer of the day. It can be

prayed at any time between noon and mid-afternoon.

Iman Faith. Having faith (and belief) in Allah Subhana Wa

Ta’ala according to the Qur'an.

Fard An action which is obligatory on every Muslim.

Fast (sawm) Fasting. Plural: Siyam. Muslims abstain from food,

drink, any falsehood in speech and action, from any ignorant

and indecent speech, and from arguing and fighting between

sunrise and sunset.

Hadith The word Hadith literally means communication or

narration. In the Islamic context it has come to denote the

record of what the Prophet Muhammad sallAllahu alaihi

wasallam said, did, or tacitly approved.

Hijab Any kind of veil-it could be a curtain, a facial veil, etc. It

is said that the universe is what veils the Creator from the

creation.

If you find the veil awe-inspiring, how much more awe-

inspiring is the one behind the veil!

InshaAllah "If Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala wills.“

Islam Literally means "submission to the will of Allah" Subhana

Wa Ta’ala. The most important and pivotal concept in Islam is

the oneness of Allah.

Nafil A voluntary act of supererogatory devotion such as Nafil

Prayer or Nafil Fast.

Nafs is an Arabic word occurring in the Qur'an meaning self or

soul.

Muslim A person who accepts Islam as their way of life.

Qu’ran The last revelation of Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala given to

Humanity, through his last Prophet and Messenger,

Muhammad sallAllahu alaihi wasallam.

Ramadhan The ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Fasting is

obligatory during this month for all Muslims.

sallAllahu alaihi wasallam May the blessings and the peace of

Allah be upon him

Subhana Wa Ta’ala may He be glorified and exalted, appears

after the name of Allah.

Work Physical or mental effort or activity directed toward the

production or accomplishment of something.

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the studying that you do, you can work 20 hours a day, but if

you don‟t ask for Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala‟s help it‟s all for you

and you will probably get nothing or very little. Yes, we all

know the successes of billionaire entrepreneurs and other

wealthy famous people but will they have success in both this

world and the Hereafter? This aim of this book is to help you

get success in both inshaAllah.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOKThis book has been designed for you to use as a workbook, it

will help you to define and achieve success on the way to work

Faith balance inshaAllah.

As you read it, use it. Make notes and complete the exercises,

apply the techniques and take action- you will start achieving

and break your success barriers.

I would also suggest that you read it regularly for inspiration

and reminders of the techniques. This will help you to keep

focused on your goals and remind you how you can achieve

them.

Once you have defined your motivators and goals you will be

on a journey to WORK FAITH BALANCE.

I wish you every success on this expidition.

Saiyyidah Zaidi

INTRODUCTIONHave you ever wondered what separates successful people from

others? Some say success is a matter of opinion, but it‟s your

definition of success that creates balance in your life.

Many people are too busy to think about this question.

Alhamdulillah, as you have downloaded this book you are one of

the people who wants to be successful and balanced. If you

take your time to think about what you want in your life and

actually define it then balance is easier to find. Everyone has the

talent to achieve their own definition of balance, but few

people have the discipline to achieve it.

Remember, Work Faith Balance is about how you measure

success and balance, and starts with creating an understanding

of what motivates you. It is not all about money, often it‟s

about how you measure things. Islam teaches us an amazing

thing: you know that you will be judged on your deeds, not how

much money you had.

So what is Work Faith Balance for you? InshaAllah this

workbook will help you to work that out.

I was not an „A‟ grade student at school and I just about

scraped through university. Yes, I qualified as an architect but it

was primarily down to hard work rather than any natural ability.

Then something happened which helped me break my success

barriers.

You can try as hard as you want, you can do all

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Don’t mess with the rocks in your life.So in order to have more balance and be a successful Working

Muslim I would urge you to remember Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala

first and foremost and make sure you pray 5 times a day. The

first thing that we will be asked about on the Day of Judgment

is the Prayer. Prophet Muhammad sallAllahu alaihi wasallam told

us in an authentic Hadith, “The first thing the people will be

accountable for on the Day of Judgment is prayer, Allah

Subhana Wa Ta’ala will say to His angels (even though he

already knows): “Look at my servant‟s prayers. Were they

complete or not?” If they were complete it will be written as

complete. If they were not fully complete Allah Subhana Wa

Ta’ala will say: “See if my servant has voluntary prayers, if he

has them Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala will say: Complete his

obligatory prayers shortage with his voluntary prayers.” Then

the rest of his deeds will be dealt with in the same manner.”

(Reported by Imams Ahmad, Abu Dawood, An-Nisa‟i, and Al-

Hakim).

Lets make these rocks into diamonds instead of boulders in our

lives, inshaAllah.

WHY WORK.

What's the point of work? What's it all for? Is this all there is?

What do I really want to do? What are my values and are they

compatible with my work?

These are all questions I have asked myself. Islam teaches us

that we should be self sufficient and work helps us to do this.

Many of us right now are unhappy at work and wondering how

we can have more balance, do we need a different career or

even just have a career! This book will help you to consider

how much time you spend at work and how you can make the

best use of your time and get more balance inshaAllah.

Before we go onto that let‟s define work. Working Muslims can

be those who are CEOs of companies, to those who are

studying at university or college, to those who are working at

home looking after the house and the children and/or running

a business from home. Everyone works in one way or another;

it‟s your perspective on your work and your role that are key

and that's what creates the basis of balance.

Consider this, the rocks (the main things) in our life should be

the 5 pillars of Islam but how many of us struggle to pray on

time before that afternoon meeting? Have you experienced a

time when you just about prayed Dhuhr on time because a

meeting over ran. Well, just to respond to that first we need to

re-consider our lives and remember that worshipping Allah

Subhana Wa Ta’ala is the reason why we are here.

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sees you. Ihsan, then means that a Muslim is sure that Allah

Subhana Wa Ta’ala is seeing him/her in everything he/she says

or does. Therefore, a Muslim does his/her best to say and do

only what pleases Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala and conforms to His

commands. This is the level of righteousness, the level of

perfection, the level of doing and saying the ultimate good, the

level of Ihsan. The word "Ihsan" in Arabic is a derivative of the

verb "ahsana," which means doing things excellently. Thus the

linguistic meaning of Ihsan is doing the best, which is doing

what Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala commanded us to do, and if we

do the best at work and in our faith inshaAllah we will be one of

the people of Jannah.

IHSAN.

Ihsan suggests doing more than a person is obligated to do and

giving more to others than what they are entitled to. It is the

single most distinguishing feature that raises a human society

above any other creations of Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala and

makes Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala pleased with humanity. That is

why Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala has mentioned the following in

five different verses of the Qu‟ran:

“Allah loves those who practice Ihsan.”

Al-Baqarah 2:195; Aali Imraan 3:134, 148; Al-Maaidah 5:13, 93.

With regard to work, Ihsan includes being dedicated and

professional in ones work and doing it to the best of your

ability.

ISLAM, IMAN IHSAN.

To become the best we can be at what we do we need to

adhere to the work ethic given to us by Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala

Himself. This ethic is described below. The work ethic is

complimented by the concept of Ihsan.

The first level is Islam. Prophet Muhammad sallAllahu alaihi

wasallam explained it as observing the five major obligations (the

adhering to that which creates an Islamic structure. By being a

Muslim a person is promised Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala's rewards

in this life and in the hereafter. However, for those who are

more ambitious and want to be closer to Allah Subhana Wa

Ta’ala, and to gain a higher level of His rewards, they need to

reach a higher level of faith which is Iman.

Iman is to believe in Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala, His angels, His

books, His messengers, the Last Day, and to believe in divine

destiny, both the good and the evil thereof. To reach this level,

more faith is needed. A deeper degree of acknowledgement is

required. This includes a belief in Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala and

what He said, He informed us in His Book, the Holy Qur'an,

that He has angels, and He sent previous Books to humanity,

delivered through previous messengers. To gain a higher level

you need Ihsan.

Ihsan is the highest of the three levels of faith and the closest to

Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala. It is to worship Allah Subhana Wa

Ta’ala as if you are seeing Him. While you do not see Him, He

truly

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this type of person will be accepted by Allah Subhana Wa

Ta’la Ta’ala and he will be rewarded in the fullest.

2. The second example was of a person who fulfilled this

religious service outwardly, but his intention was not the

pleasure of Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala nor fulfilling His

Command, and so this type of person, although he may

achieve what he was intending in this life, will not receive

reward for it from Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala, and the deed is

not one which is considered acceptable.

It is understood that a person may even be rewarded for their

everyday normal activity which they perform, as long as their

intention is correct and that that act is not prohibited by the

religion. Islam has encouraged and sometimes even placed the

obligation upon humans of specific manners and morals in

regards to life outside worship. It provides guidance for

performing every day activities, from sleeping to eating. If a

person performs the various activities conforming to the

legislation, they will be rewarded for it inshaAllah. Intention

allows one‟s entire life to become an act of worship, as long as

the objective of that life is the pleasure of Allah Subhana Wa

Ta’ala, whose pleasure is achieved by doing good and refraining

from evil. A person can turn everyday activities into acts of

worship by purifying his or her intention and sincerely seeking

Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala‟s pleasure through these activities.

So how can you have Ihsan at work? What do you need to do

to strive to be excellent? To apply Ihsan at work the first step is

to work out what is your intention is.

INTENTION.The following Hadith is a very important in this context as

Prophet Muhammad sallAllahu alaihi wasallam sets one of the

most important principles in the religion of Islam, specifically in

regards to the acceptance of one‟s religion and deeds by Allah

Subhana Wa Ta’ala, and generally to all other normal every day

activity in which a person involves him or herself. This

principle is that in order for any action to be accepted and thus

rewarded by Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala, it must be done purely

for His sake. This concept is often called “sincerity to Allah”,

but the most exact meaning would be “purity of intention”.

At one of the stages of the life of the Prophet Muhammad

sallAllahu alaihi wasallam Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala ordered all the

Muslims to migrate from Mecca to the newborn Islamic state of

Medina. In this Hadith, the Prophet sallAllahu alaihi wasallam

gave an example of two types of people in regards to this

religious service of migration:

1. The first example was that of the person who migrated to

Medina purely for the sake of Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala,

seeking His Pleasure and seeking to fulfill His command.

The Prophet sallAllahu alaihi wasallam stated that the deed of

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Now pay attention to the next pointas it is one of the most importantthings in this book:Even earning a living can be rewarded as well. The

Companions saw a man and were astonished by his hard work

and industry. They lamented: “If he were only doing this much

work for the sake of Allah …”

Prophet Muhammad sallAllahu alaihi wasallam replied:

“If he is working to support his small children, then it is for the

sake of Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala. If he is working to support

his elderly parents, then it is for the sake of Allah Subhana Wa

Ta’ala. If he is working to occupy himself and keep his desires

in check, then it is for the sake of Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala. If,

on the other hand, he is doing so to show off and earn fame,

then he is working for the sake of Satan.”

And let me say it again, even earning a living can be rewarded as

well.

In this book we will ask you to take some time to assess how

much time you spend at work, consider your approach to work,

your life values and how you can have a better work life balance

inshaAllah.

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Why is this important? It‟s important because the majority of us

HAVE to work but the majority of us don‟t ENJOY it.

Is your work giving you balance?

"There's a restless dissatisfaction that comes from always wondering if

there's something better out there," says Barry Schwartz, author of

The Paradox of Choice. Indeed, more than half of global

executives wish they could start over in a different career.

"People define their work as a job, a career or a calling," says Schwartz,

"Jobs are to support yourself. Careers today require a lot of hoping. If we're

lucky, we wind up with a calling.“ www.time.com

I have been through a variety of employers and made various

career choices. My first paid job was in a summer play scheme

(summer camp) at the age of 12! Was that a career choice? No,

but as we had both able bodied and disabled children at there,

this experience really moulded my desire to make the world a

better place (in whatever small way I can). I have been a

Company Director and employee . Each time I go through my

journey of moving career I take time to reflect and see if I

enjoyed what I was doing, was I proud of my contribution to

my work place and did I feel that I had balance and success?

Before we can go any further we must define where you are

now and what motivates you. It must be personal to you and

will be different to that of others and there is no right and

wrong.

Let‟s define your work faith balance.

HOW MUCH TIME DO YOUSPEND AT WORK?This is always something that causes us some pain. I think most

people would say that they spend too much time at work! I

certainly do, and I bet you do too!

Annual hours over eight centuries

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_time#cite_note-8 Accessed on 03 Sept 2010

The table above show us the average number of hours an

individual works has just increased and increased. Not only do

we live longer but we work more hours too!

Year Type of worker Annual hours

13th century Adult male peasant, UK 1620 hours

14th century Casual labourer, UK 1440 hours

Middle Ages English worker 2309 hours

1400–1600 Farmer, adult male, UK 1980 hours

1840 Average worker, UK 3105–3588 hours

1850 Average worker, U.S. 3150–3650 hours

1987 Average worker, U.S. 1949 hours

1988 Manufacturing workers, UK 1855 hours

2004Average full-time worker, Germany

1480 hours

2008 Average worker, India 2817 – 3443 hours

2010 Investment Banker, NY 5082 hours10

© Copyright 2010 by Working Muslim

WORKOUT 1- WHERE AM I?What do I enjoy doing? E.g. I enjoy writing reports.

Why do I enjoy doing these things? E.g. Writing is creative.

What don’t I enjoy doing? E.g. I don't like photocopying.

Why don’t I enjoy doing these things? E.g. Because its repetitive.

What are my strengths? E.g. I am good at organising things.

What are my weaknesses? E.g. I am not good at writing.

What makes me happy? E.g. I like challenge at work.

What makes me sad? E.g. I have to rush my prayers at work.

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WORKOUT 2- MOTIVATORSWhat are your motivators? By understanding this inshaAllah you

will be a lot clearer on knowing what your drivers are.

We are already on the next WORKOUT. This one is a lot of

fun as it will really help you understand what drives you.

Motivators:

Read the motivators listed above from 1 to 9. On the right are

combinations of 2 of the 9. Compare the 2 with each other and

by matching the definitions above indicate which number

motivates you more by circling it.

Add up how many times you have ringed each number

and put the totals in the grid below.

Asapted from an Exercise in the Personal Success Pocketbook.

1 Status Seeking recognition/ admiration/ respect

2 Influence Seeking the ability to affect people, make a

difference

3 Material reward Seeking possessions/ wealth/ a high standard of

living

4 Independence Seeking the ability to make your own decisions

5 Experience Seeking accomplishment in a specialised field

6 Creativity Seeking innovation and being identified with

original output

7 Affiliation Seeking fulfilling relationships

8 Reward, ajr Seeking the pleasure of Allah

9 Security Seeking a solid/ predictable future

1 or 4 3 or 4 3 or 7 4 or 8 5 or 6 6 or 7

6 or 9 8 or 1 9 or 7 1 or 5 1 or 3 2 or 5

2 or 6 4 or 7 5 or 8 5 or 9 6 or 3 7 or 1

2 or 3 7 or 8 8 or 6 9 or 8 9 or 4 1 or 2

1 or 9 2 or 8 2 or 9 2 or 7 3 or 8 4 or 2

4 or 5 4 or 6 5 or 3 5 or 7 6 or 1 9 or 3

No of times

circled

Motivator Rank Order

1 Status

2 Influence

3 Material rewards

4 Independence

5 Expertise

6 Creativity

7 Affiliation

8 Reward, ajr

9 Security 12

© Copyright 2010 by Working Muslim

WORKOUT 2- MOTIVATORS CONTINUTED.

Now take a few minutes and write down how you feel about what

you have discovered from this exercise.

Pretty powerful wasn‟t it?

We will now move on to look at the Hierarchy of Needs and the cycle of behaviours.

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Safety- Once physiological needs are met, your attention turns

to safety and security in order to be free from the threat of

physical and emotional harm. Such needs might be fulfilled by:

Living in a safe area, Medical insurance, Job security, Financial

reserves.

According to Maslow‟s hierarchy, if a person feels that he or

she is in harm‟s way, higher needs will not receive much

attention- so if you have no food or water you will focus on

that need first.

Social Needs Once you have met the lower level physiological

and safety needs, higher level needs become important, the first

of which are social needs. Social needs are those related to

interaction with other people and can include: Need for friends,

need for belonging, the need to give and receive love.

Esteem Once you feel a sense of “belonging”, the need to feel

important arises. Esteem or value needs may be classified as

internal or external. Internal esteem needs are those related to

self-esteem such as self respect and achievement. External

esteem needs are those such as social status and recognition.

Some esteem needs are: Self-respect, Achievement, Attention,

Recognition, Reputation.

Self-actualization is the summit of Maslow‟s hierarchy of

needs. It is the mission of reaching your full potential as a

person. Unlike lower level needs, this need is never fully

satisfied; as you grow psychologically there are always new

opportunities to continue to grow.

HEIRARCHY OF NEEDSAs human beings we have plenty of needs that need to be

fulfilled. An American academic called Maslow developed a

theory called the Hierarchy of Needs. This says that human

beings have a number of needs that must be met. The diagram

below shows these. We will go through these briefly inshaAllah.

http://maslowshierarchyofneeds.flagsolution.com/applicationofmaslowshierarchyofneedselementaryeducation/

Physiological needs are those required to sustain life, such as:

air, water, nourishment, sleep.

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What is missing in the Hierarchy of Needs?

One thing that Maslow‟s theory misses out is spirituality. As

human beings we have a physical aspect to our nature but we

also have a spiritual one, and in some ways the spiritual one is

more powerful than the physical need. We are both physical

and spiritual beings. By mentioning spirituality and nafs the

hierarchy has more depth. All of the needs mentioned in the

hierarchy are essentially related to our nafs and it is our spiritual

self that motivates us to behave in a particular way. What is

interesting here is that the drivers of the spirit are often the

opposite to the driver of the nafs. These are constantly in a state

of struggle against each other- desperate to dominate. To

engage in this struggle we engage in the „jihad al nafs‟ (striving

against the animal self).

What is interesting is that as Muslims we fast and are able to

control our desires for food, drink and marital relations from

sunrise to sunset. As soon as we are allowed these things again

we freely partake in them. This behaviour contradicts Maslow‟s

theory- in that when we are hungry but are fasting we will not

satisfy our basic needs. The same applies to when we wake at

night to pray and devote ourselves to long prayers and sacrifice

sleep, thus the spiritual self is dominant again.

Self-actualized people tend to have needs such as: Truth,

Justice, Wisdom, Meaning. Self-actualized persons have

frequent occurrences of peak experiences, which are ecstatic

moments of profound happiness and harmony. According to

Maslow, only a small percentage of the population reaches the

level of self-actualization.

As previously mentioned, physiological needs are those that we

need to sustain life, and I would say these are the basic human

needs- air, water, food, shelter, sleep. According to Maslow‟s

theory, if such needs are not satisfied then our motivation will

come from the desire to satisfy them. Higher needs such as

social needs and esteem are not felt until one has met the basic

needs to function. Makes sense so far? If we feel hungry, we

lack at the first level and that would motivate us to satisfy our

desire in a particular way- for most of us that could be by going

and making something to eat and having a drink. After that

need is satisfied we are ok and at a state of balance again. This

idea applies to all the levels.

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workplace, whether it be because we wear a hijab, have a beard

or even just because we take regular short breaks to go and

pray. At the end of the day for Muslims the ability to express

your Islamic identity is as much a part of our hierarchy of

needs. So how do we express our need and feel proud, and feel

confident that it is not affecting our ability to look for work, get

a promotion and be successful in our careers and have a

balance between work and our Iman.

Let‟s look at how the cycle of behaviour works and how we

look at our lives and working lives. The cycle of behaviour

shows the pattern that we go through when trying to struggle

against the nafs and we need to break free from this cycle

inshaAllah to create balance.

Now this is the bit where you need to pay attention.

From the Hierarchy of Needs modern leaders and executive

managers can find a means of understanding employee

motivation for the purposes of staff and workforce

management. The basis of Maslow's theory of motivation is

that human beings are motivated by unsatisfied needs, and that

certain lower needs require satisfaction before higher needs can

be addressed. So for adequate workplace motivation it is

important that leaders and managers understand which needs

are active for individual employee motivation. Related to this

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs indicates that basic, low-level

needs such as physiological requirements and safety must be

satisfied before higher-level needs such as self-fulfilment are

pursued. When a need is satisfied it no longer motivates and the

next higher need takes its place.

Your Islamic Needs.Now that we have looked at one way of articulating needs, let‟s

look at our needs as Muslims. The basic needs of a Muslim are:

Fulfilling the 5 pillars of Islam. We all want to express

ourselves as Muslims. Many of us will be recognised as Muslims

in the

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victim of any hunter or trap. The righteous predecessors

preferred to strengthen the wing of fear during good times

when heedlessness is feared, and to strengthen the wing of

hope at times of calamity and when near death.

The above diagram shows how we are in a cyclical pattern from

the need to motive to behaviour to goal attainment to

equilibrium to need again. The motive is the reason why you

are doing it all.

Now that you have read this, how do you feel about your

motivators and needs?

The cycle of behaviour.

My view is that the needs mentioned in the Hierarchy of Needs

are not always needs, but rather desires. When I‟m hungry, I

desire food. It only really becomes a need once I reach the

point of starvation- something which most of us are unlikely to

experience. Allhamdulillah. So the instructions of Islam are

there to liberate us from being a slave to our desires, rather than

behaving in a way dictated to us by our desires. Islam, the

religion is one of balance and moderation: we fast and at times

we eat; we stand up for prayer at night and we sleep as well. So

our desires are fulfilled in a balanced and moderate manner.

So what are the needs that drive the spiritual self? I believe that

it is the need to know Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala. This knowing is

not merely theoretical knowledge that is gained from studying

books. It includes some studying but it goes beyond that as

well. Knowing of realisation and experience are key, so that we

know through acts of worship and through doing the things

that have been prescribed for us to do, the veils between us and

Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala are lifted and we draw closer to Him.

Our relationship with Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala also plays a role.

The heart is like a bird whose head is love, and hope and fear

are its two wings. When the head and the two wings are in

balance and healthy the flight of the bird is good, but when the

head is cut off, it immediately dies, and when either or both

wings are deficient, the bird cannot fly properly and may

become the

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Describe your behaviour at work, are you happy with it.

How much do you earn? Is it enough?

Describe your work environment.

Describe your job security.

What are my social needs and do I have the time to fulfill these?

How my employer acknowledge me as a valued employee?

My work is a challenge for me because.

Describe how you are satisfied at work.

WORKOUT 3 - RELATIONSHIP WITH WORKLook at your responses to workout 2 and your motivators. What have you discovered and answer these questions.

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.

WORKOUT 3 RELATIONSHIP WITH WORK CONTINUTED.

Now take a few minutes and write down how you feel about what you have discovered from this exercise.

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system that tried to motivate me with some fear. "You better

get good grades, unless you want to be unemployed your

whole life." Or "You have to have a career, or you'll just float

through life," as if our worth as human beings and our

happiness are only determined by achieving some constructed

measure of success. It was that kind of thinking that got me

away from my gut instinct, and made me focus on success as

being more important than happiness. That closes off your

ability to be free and use your imagination. Having a successful

career as defined by society can also make life a bit of a struggle

rather than something to be enjoyed and viewed as a gift from

Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala. Now, let me share something personal

with you, when I was young people used to ask me what I

wanted to do when I grew up. I could have said the usual

„Doctor, lawyer, accountant. . .‟, but my response was to be

happy. Little did I know how profound a statement that was!

Really successful people have careers doing what they love to

do. Out of that being happy in work pays dividends in success-

financial or otherwise, and creates real balance.

So success or happiness or balance?

The answer to this really depends on what your goal is. In the

next section we will look at how we set goals, inshaAllah.

Now not all people are lucky enough to be happy with their

answers to all of these questions. The key here is to be honest

with yourself; these answers are just for you. If you feel you

need to review any of your questions then please go back and

reflect on them again.

Not all people are driven by the same needs, at the same time

different people are motivated by different factors. To

motivate you, your manager must be able to recognise and

understand your needs and your layers of motivation. As a

manager you need to be able to recognise those of your

workforce .

Work Faith Balance: Happy or successful, or even both?

Happiness defined: 1. Characterized by good luck; fortunate; 2.

Enjoying, showing, or marked by pleasure, satisfaction, or joy;

3. Being especially well-adapted; felicitous: a happy turn of

phrase; 4. Cheerful; willing: happy to help.

Successful defined: 1. having succeeded in one's endeavours; 2.

marked by a favourable outcome; 3. having obtained fame,

wealth, etc.

Like a lot of British people my education was based on a school

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So how do you discover your values?

You keep on asking „why‟ questions until you reach a point

where you no longer want something for the sake of something

else. At this point you have arrived at your value.

Discovering values example:

•Why are you doing your degree?

•To gain qualifications.

•Why do you want to gain qualifications?

•To succeed in your career.

•Why do you want to succeed in your career?

•To reach the top.

•Why do you want to reach the top?

•To make a difference.

•Why do you want to make a difference?

•To improve people’s lives.

•Why do you want to improve people‟s lives?

•I like to improve people’s lives.

•Why?

•Because I want to make Allah happy with me.

Arriving at values: it looks like „Making Allah happy‟ is one of

the values in this case study! The same line of questioning of

persons undergoing higher education may reveal values like

knowledge, money, status, standard of living, ambition,

achievement, growth, reputation, excellence, fame.

YOUR VALUES = YOUR CAREER

One of the greatest misfortunes in life is to be good at

something you don‟t like. You may be proficient in maths but

you hate it. You may be a competent project manager busy

interacting with people every minute of the day, but actually

you want a life of solitude and contemplation. Your values will

distinguish what you are good at (skill, proficiency,

competence) and what you like (values) and what you want to

do in life (interests). There are many psychometric tests, IQ

tests, etc. that tell you what you are good at. Your VALUES

will tell you what you like.

If you want to enjoy harmony in work life balance your choice

of career is important. It should be based on things that

encompass your skills, interests, personality and values.

Values: things that are important to you- achievement, status,

money, honesty, ability to practice Islam.

Interests: what you enjoy doing- reading, eating with friends,

going to the movies.

Personality: your individual traits, motivational drives,

temperament, attitudes

Skills: activities you are good at, competent at, have expertise

or talent in.

Values are core beliefs which guide and motivate attitude and

behaviour. When you value something you want it or want it to

happen, they are relatively permanent desires.

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It is most important for you to find out your own values (by the

„why‟ method) to avoid „value-mismatch‟ which is when your

values and these values you are expected to have do not match.

It has been said that value-mismatch is at the root cause of

dilemmas in our lives It may seem trivial but even when you

plan to marry you must look for signs of value-mismatch! Your

values are possibly the most important thing to consider when

you are choosing a partner or workplace .

A conflict between your personal and organisational values may

result in ethical dilemmas at the workplace, while value

mismatch between two persons may sow the seeds of conflict

and cause stress and turbulence in a relationship.

Your choice of career requires you to take into account your

values when planning your future. There is a good chance that

if you dislike your work you will not enjoy it. For example,

someone who needs to have autonomy (freedom) in his work

would not be happy in a job where every action is decided by

someone else. For me, I like to have a variety in my work so

every day is not the same- for many if you are in a job that was

the same day in day out you would find it difficult. Others enjoy

the repetition of the same task. The key here is that we are all

different; we just need to understand our work values and what

drives us.

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My values in prioritisation:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

WORKOUT 4 VALUE PRIORITISATION

This list might include values like Ihsan, honesty, integrity,

loyalty, prestige, happiness, friendship, family life, etc. Now list

and prioritise your values in order of importance to discover

your core values.

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WORKOUT 4 VALUE PRIORITISATION CONTINUTED.

Now take a few minutes and write down how you feel about what you have discovered from this. Are there any

surprises?

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Fun: Do you want to have fun? Fun is not only an important

value but also a determinant of character. If you want to know

about a man find out how he has fun. If you had a day off what

will you do? How you spend your leisure time reveals vital clues

about your values too! Would you read a book, write a story, go

hiking outdoors, play your favourite sport, adventure sports,

chat with friends, picnic, go out for something to eat or cook it

yourself, go to the mosque, spend the day at home with your

family, study, watch TV, spend the day in glorious solitude

enjoying quality time with yourself?

Do you value humour, fun, pleasure, food, enjoyment, family

life, quality of life, status, money, success, fame, power, prestige,

security, nature, loyalty, love, affection, independence, privacy,

togetherness, tranquillity, adventure, leadership, or followership.

Competition, contentment, creativity, and the values of others

who you want to relate with are really important to. Match and

harmonise your values, and be happy and fulfilled in your work

and your relationships and get balance.

Trust your sense of values: remember at any important

milestone in your life, when you have to make a vital decision,

whether you are on the verge of selecting a career, a job, a

house or marriage partner, trust your sense of values.

WORK FAITH BALANCEBefore you choose your career, reflect and workout the

compatibility and harmony between the career and your

orientation in life (your skills, interests, personality and values).

Values are most important because you cannot change your

values and when your values are satisfied you will be at the

journey to work Faith balance.

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what

you do are in harmony” Mahatma Gandhi.

Work – Faith = stress.

Look inwards: Interests, skills and personality can be

developed, but values are intrinsic core beliefs inherent within

you. You have to look inward, analyse, introspect, reflect and

endeavour to discover your own true values.

Value congruence: whether it is your work or relationships, value

congruence is of very important; your values must be in

harmony for the relationship to tick.

Value dissonance: the extent of balance in your values should

determine your choice of work, activities, relationships, friends

and partner. Value dissonance due to mismatch between

individual values and organisational values can cause great strain

and trauma in the workplace and total imbalance.

Freedom: Is freedom an important value for you? Is the career or

job you are considering going to give you enough freedom?

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Properly-set goals can be incredibly motivating, and as you get

into the habit of setting and achieving goals, you'll find that

your self-confidence builds fast. vision and short-term

motivation. They focus your acquisition of knowledge, and help

you to organize your time and your resources so that you can

make the very most of your life.

By setting sharp, clearly defined goals, you can measure and

take pride in the achievement of those goals. You can see

forward progress in what might previously have seemed a long

pointless grind. By setting goals, you will also raise your self-

confidence, as you recognize your ability and competence in

achieving the goals that you have set. You'll also quickly spot

the distractions that would otherwise lure you from your

course.

GOALS

Goal setting techniques are used by top-level athletes,

successful business-people and achievers in all fields. They give

you long-term

The best way to take your motivations and goals and create

balance is to tie it all to a goal. What is a goal? A goal is a

written statement with a deadline. A goal should inspire you to

do the work. Your goals should excite and even scare you in a

positive way. A goal is not a „to do‟ list or an idea, what your

family/husband/wife/parents/etc. wants for you, or what

society thinks is right for you. Goals are set to help you create

what does not already exist. They are based on a long-term plan

that has no constraints, anything is possible. Whatever you need

to achieve your long-term goal (skills, funding, experience, etc.)

you can gain with time.

Why do we need to set goals?

Goal setting is a powerful process for thinking about your ideal

future, and for motivating yourself to turn this vision of the

future into reality. The process of setting goals helps you

choose where you want to go in life. By knowing precisely what

you want to achieve, you will know where you have to

concentrate your efforts.

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for you. They will often do this in ignorance of your own

desires and ambitions.

So how can you set goals that are specific?

There is a acronym SMART- specific, measurable, attainable,

relevant and time bound.

An example of a SMART goal:

„I am going to complete that assignment by Thursday at 5pm

One final thought inshaAllah is, patience. There is an ayat of the

Quran that is just so awesome

„Oh you who believe, seek assistance through patience and prayer, surely

Allah is with the patient.‟

Surah Baqara, verse 153.

Remember successful people set goals, really successful people

write them down.

HOW TO SET GOALS

So inshaAllah we‟ll go through how to set goals.

State each goal as a positive statement: Express your goals positively

– „I am going to study one hour a day' is a much better goal

than 'I won‟t waste time‟

Be precise: Set a precise goal, putting in dates, times and amounts

so that you can measure achievement.

Set priorities: When you have several goals, give each a priority.

This helps you to avoid feeling overwhelmed by having too

many goals.

Write goals down: This crystallizes them and gives them more

force.

Keep goals small but challenging: Keeping goals small and

incremental gives more opportunities for reward.

Set performance goals, not outcome goals: You should take care to set

goals over which you have as much control as possible.

Set realistic goals: It is important to set goals that you can achieve.

All sorts of people (employers, parents, media, society) can set

unrealistic goals

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you needed the £1m to get your sick child hospital treatment

then it gives you a purpose; and this purpose will define why

you are willing to put in the effort and time into achieving your

outcomes.

MASSIVE ACTION PLAN

Here is where you get to write your to do list. Write 10

things to get you the result. So if you want to get a promotion?

You can write all the things down. What are the top 2 most

important things- when you look at it if you did those 2 it

would give you massive results? Amazingly, 80% of results are

achieved by 20% of effort. Choose those 2 write them down at

the top. Take those 2 things and put them in your diary or

schedule and monitor how you do. Think about any obstacles

that might be in your way and prepare for them. Then

massively go towards your result.

Take your RPM and print it out, put it somewhere where you

will look at it daily, this will help you get your results. When you

complete a task then review your RPM and add something else

to the massive action plan.

GOAL SETTING

DiscoverUlife (a personal development organisation) has areally fantastic method of goal setting- its called RPM- Results,Purpose, Massive Action Plan (see below). Lets go through thisquickly before you do your own RPM. If you just stick to a to-do list it will most probably be stressful, unproductive and offtarget.

RESULT- What do you really want?

What is the result that you want? If you are going to look foranother job what is it that you really want? If you say I wantmore money, or more flexibility or to work less hours then youknow your result. So write that in the results column.

PURPOSE- Achieving this result means what?

This is the most important part of RPM and is often the mostneglected, you can‟t ignore this step. Why do you want theresult? What will getting this result mean to you? If yourpurpose is

Massive Action

Plan

Results Purpose

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.

WORKOUT 5 RPM

Now its your turn to do your RPM, remember to take your

time, go through the instructions on the previous page and see

how you get on.

Massive Action Plan Results Purpose

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for something else! Every year, for one month, as Muslims we

go through a similar fasting exercise. We observe the fast as a

compulsory practice which Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala prescribed

in His revealed messages, especially in the final revealed book,

the Qu‟ran. One of the many benefits they experience from

fasting is its training aspect.

The great people we read about in history were strong willed

people who obeyed their minds and not their fancies. They

built up their willpower by working hard and overcoming the

obstacles that faced them. Great people take pleasure in

resisting temptation and in the sense of power and self-control

that doing so gives them. Our history testifies to a great number

of such people.

Take Abû Bakr radi Allahu anhu after the death of the Prophet

Muhammad sallAllahu alaihi wasallam some of the Arab tribe

refused to pay Zakâh. Many people advised Abû Bakr radi

Allahu anhu to be lenient on them. However, he rejected their

advice and demanded that the Arabs accept Islam

wholeheartedly without subtracting anything from it. We can

see in this his determination, his strength of will, and his ability

to stand up in the face of the most trying of circumstances.

Consider Ibn Taymiyah‟s rahimahullah stance when the ruler

wanted him to abandon the opinions that he had arrived at

through careful study. When Ibn Taymiyah rahimahullah refused

to do so, he was imprisoned and tortured but he still refused to

WILLPOWER AND HOW TO TRAIN IT

Many people fail to get ahead because they have no willpower

to do what they know they should be doing. Nor can they help

themselves to avoid the things which they know will ruin them.

Some people have habits like smoking, doing drugs, drinking

alcohol that they would like to give up, but struggle. As

Muslims we have to balance all aspects of life and try and

increase our Iman every day.

There are some strong-willed people who seem to be able to do

what they know is right and avoid what they know is wrong.

Such people experience peace of mind knowing that they are

doing the right thing with the right intention. Their willpower is

obviously working for them. But how do they do it? What is

the secret? The secret is that you can train your willpower, your

nafs. So how do you do it?

Suppose you made a resolution to skip lunch for a month and

actually stuck to your decision. You may save your lunch

money, lose a few pounds, develop sympathy for the poor, and

give your digestive system a much-needed rest. More

importantly, you will strengthen your willpower. The reason

this works is that you teach yourself to avoid lunch even when

you know you could have it if you decide. Your stomach may

growl, but you won't listen. Thus, you train yourself to ignore

the calling of your lower physical self and reach for the higher

goals of real human achievement. Doing the right thing even

when your desires are calling

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recant. Instead, he spent his time in prison writing books

wherein he explained and defended his principles and teachings.

When they took away his pens and paper, he took up pieces of

coal and began writing on the walls. His determination in the

face of imprisonment and torture is a great example of the

triumph of the human will over adversity and his writings are an

enduring legacy of this triumph.

Willpower is one of the greatest secrets of success. By

cultivating our willpower and strengthening it, we can stand up

to the trials that face us. A strong-willed person is someone

who can improve himself and someone who can benefit from

the advice and guidance of others. By contrast, a weak-willed

person cannot improve himself and will not be availed of the

efforts of others to better him. Before anything else, he needs

to strengthen himself. He needs to treat his weakness as if it

were a disease and be patient during the healing process.

So now you know your goals, your intention and how to have

willpower. InshaAllah the next step is to try and look at how you

can develop willpower.

How To Develop Your Will

All willpower is not conscious. In other words, willpower is

both

conscious and unconscious. We can improve conscious

willpower easily. To develop your willpower, you should

develop those skills and attitudes that are conducive to the

development of willpower and at the same time remove

blockages and negative parameters that hinder the development

of your will.

Believe You Can

If you believe you can, you can, inshaAllah. Believe you can

become a successful person and have balance. YES! You are

actually a successful person. What is needed to make it a reality

is to believe in yourself and work for it. So tell yourself that you

can achieve what you want, can do what you want, and can

become immensely successful.

Auto Suggestion

The power of Auto Suggestion is tremendous. All of us use it

knowingly or unknowingly. If you can use it knowingly, you can

work wonders. By suggesting to yourself that you can achieve

what you want you really can achieve that.

Here are some statements you can suggest to yourself :

‘I can do this and I will do this’

‘I am OK and I will stay OK’

‘I will become successful’

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WORKOUT 6- WILLPOWER

Remember your personal power is limitless inshaAllah.

Describe the best possible working situation for you. Look at

your RPM. If you achieve everything in your RPM what will life

be like for you? Write it down below.

What will it smell like, what will it sound like, what will it feel

like?

Take what you will smell, hear and feel and exaggerate

that feeling. Close your eyes and visualise that

experience in 6 months, in 1 year, in 5 years. Once you

have done that write down how you feel.

Auto suggestion. Now write down some positive

statements associated with this, for example „I will make

my work beneficial for the hereafter‟. Repeat these to yourself

regularly.

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what you have then you can definitely achieve your other goals

inshaAllah. This is amazingly powerful and gives you an

enormous amount of confidence.

This gratitude and realisation of what you have will also help

you to focus on your goals. You will probably realise that if you

can achieve what you have then you can definitely achieve your

other goals. This is amazingly powerful and gives you an

enormous amount of confidence.

We are often thankful to our friends and family, and we are

thankful for to Allah. But how many of us have actually sat

down and written out what we are thankful for and then gone

and shown gratitude to Allah by doing the Sajdat al-Shukr ?

Sajdat al-Shukr is prescribed for anything that makes one

happy, whether it is attaining some benefit or warding off some

harm. One of the Hadith of Abû Bakr radi Allahu anhu who said

that when the Prophet Muhammad sallAllahu alaihi wasallam

heard any news that made him glad, he would fall down

prostrating to Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala. (Reported by the five

except al-Nisaa‟i).

GIVING THANKSWe feel really fulfilled while we say thank you because this

makes us acknowledge our appreciation to Allah Subhana Wa

Ta’ala that we got something we needed. What is truly awesome

is that in Islam it also makes Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala know that

we are appreciative of his gift to us and that we can see that

what he gave us is of value. Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala gave us

this wonderful life and we should be thankful for it. We pray to

Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala for the things we want but we never

say thanks for what we already have. Even if we say thanks it

would be only once or twice. Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala gave us

many gifts which we enjoy every day so we should be thankful

every day. Gratitude is a great way to remove negative energy

from your mind because you start focusing on things you have,

instead of what you don‟t have.

There are a million and one self help advocates out there that

suggest you practice gratitude daily. I entirely agree with this

concept but will urge you to implement the Sunnah and give

thanks to Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala. You will feel better when

you have thanked your Creator. You might even feel like you

are the luckiest person in the world as you have acknowledged

some of the Mercies that Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala has given

you..

This gratitude and realisation of what you have will also help

you to focus on your goals. You will probably realise that if you

can achieve

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Write down 5 things that you are grateful to Allah Subhana Wa

Ta’ala for.

NOW write down 10 things you are REALLY grateful for.

Write down what you are grateful for in relation to your

working life.

What are you grateful to Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala for in

relation to your career and work?

WORKOUT 7 GRATITUDE TO ALLAH

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Take a few minutes to thank Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala for all

your successes and what you have achieved. It is absolutely

crucial that you do this right now before you read any further.

Write down how you feel right now.

Pretty powerful wasn‟t it?

Now that you are aware of how you feel about your work,

know what you are grateful for and what your successes are

at work you can consider how you can make some changes

or set goals to create more balance. In this next section we

will discuss what a goal is and how to set goals. This is an

important part of your journey to the next stage inshaAllah.

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CONSOLIDATION

So review the answers to the previous workouts and make a

note of your reflections.

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guidance.

Mentoring: a mentor can almost be seen as a wise, experienced

friend or trusted boss or manager. A mentor leads by example

and is a role model. They might be very good at helping you see

the big picture and understand the politics of the organisation

you work for.

A coach can be a mentor and a mentor can be a coach, or the

role can be rolled into one. The key is that whatever term you

use, the person being coached or mentored gets unbiased

support and guidance.

Benefits of Coaching and Mentoring

When you work with a coach or mentor you will benefit in

many ways:

•Have a safe place to discuss issues

•Develop skills you already have

•Learn new skills

•Gain insight into yourself and the people you work with

•Get unbiased, confidential support

•Gain fresh perspectives on your issues

•Get advice, suggestions and options

ONE FINAL THOUGHT

Coaching and mentoring, whether it is on an executive level or

individuals is increasingly being recognised as important in employee

development. It is acknowledged by senior management in many

organisations that their companies will thrive if they offer some form

of coaching and mentoring to their staff. I coached and mentored my

staff and have had amazing results with people going on to superb

senior positions in their careers.

How do you know what to do?

The only problem is that for someone who has never used a coach or

mentor before, it can all be very confusing. For those who want to

undertake coaching or mentoring, the choices can seem daunting:

'Where do I begin?'

Coaching or Mentoring?

There is no definitive answer to this. The two seem to be increasingly

linked and the words are often used interchangeably.

Coaching: a business, corporate or executive coach is the similar to a

sports coach. This person sets specific goals and objectives, sees what

you need to do to achieve them and works with you on target setting,

professional and personal development, expansion of your skills base

and offers practical and relevant advice and

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The key is working with someone you like, admire and with

whom you feel comfortable.

Anything else I should be aware of?

There are a few important things that will help you make the

most of your coach or mentor:

•Meet with them on a regular basis - whether fortnightly,

monthly, quarterly, etc

•Set clear objectives to be discussed before the meeting

•Rely on them for guidance, not answers

•Be honest

•A mentor isn't a dumping ground

Using a coach or mentor is one of the best ways to develop

yourself and is a great way not to have to go it alone.

Mini WorkoutQuickly sit down and think of all the people you know who

could coach and mentor you, or even those who you could

offer coaching to. Make a note of what they can specifically

offer. Consider asking them to coach you, but plan how you

will ask them.

An example of someone who's done it'“In my last job I had a coach and mentor with a wide range of skills. Mymentor was in another part of the business. I approached her and asked ifshe was ok with mentoring me- be very complementary when askingsomeone to mentor you- they love it.

From this mentoring I was able to plan out a career path for me,understand my skills and abilities and have someone reflect these back tome. My mentor and coach never sat around waiting for someone else tomake it happen for her - she's just gone and done it, success or failure beingfar less important than the doing. And that is why she was an excellentrole model as a coach and mentor for me. “

Anon, Director in Public Sector, United Kingdom.

How do I get a mentor?As we can see there's no shortage of people wanting to become

coaches and mentors. But what if you want to use one. Where

do you begin? Of course, the best place to look is your

workplace or your circle of friends. If at work you have a

coaching and mentoring programme that you aren't accessing,

get yourself to HR ASAP and find out how you become part of

this programme. You could also look around your company

and identify someone you think would make an excellent coach

or mentor and ask them if they'd be willing.

Using either a formal or informal approach is equally effective.

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sincerity and to do it to the best of your ability. Also remember,

du‟a is the most powerful tool you have.

I pray that Allah Subhana Wa Ta’ala grants you untold success in

your working life and enables you create the work Faith balance

that we all desire.

SO WHAT’S NEXT?

Now this is a difficult one as you are the only one with the

answer. You now have a real assessment of where you are.

Would you rather be doing something else, or are you satisfied

in your role? Now that you know your values and your work

drivers, are they compatible with your employers? What can

you do to either change your outlook or make it easier for you

in terms of your view of your work?

This is the end of the workbook, but the start of your success

inshaAllah.

By completing these exercises I am confident that you will have

more clarity on your current working role and your motivators,

you will have made an action plan for the future, and

understand your values. The main focus of this workbook was

to help you to understand how you can create work Faith

balance and break your success barriers. InshaAllah completing

the exercises in this book will have helped you to do just that.

The concepts of understanding your motivators, values and

preparing an action plan can be used in all aspects of your life.

However, the key to success in life is to do every task with

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About the Author.

Saiyyidah Zaidi is an Assistant Director in a corporate

environment in London. She has faced many work related

issues and had to respond to these in a „win win‟ way. Saiyyidah

is a qualified architect, a Member of the Institute of Directors, a

Fellow of the Association for Project Management and a

member of Society of Local Authority Chief Executives.

Saiyyidah has many roles in life including being a mother, a

wife, a daughter.. She has also presented programmes on

Islamic TV channels, given presentations and talks, and is a

executive business coach and mentor.

Recently she has been approached by individuals asking for

support with coaching or mentoring and help with issues in the

workplace. It is as a direct result of these that Saiyyidah decided

to write this e workbook.

Saiyyidah lives in London with her husband and 2 children.

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Working Muslim