MAULANA WAHIDUDDIN KHAN has a simple formula to fight the frustration of failure and be successful: When one option fails, try the next one, as the world is full of options
In the present world, there are many people who have become habituated to a number of addictions like alcohol, tobacco and psychotropic drugs. It is well known that these habits are very bad for health; yet, people are unable to give up these habits that eventually become addictions.
I have often met such people. Curious to know why they were entrapped in this unhealthy habit, I once asked a person the reason for his addiction. He smiled and said to me, “Ye mere liye ek bhulawa habit hai” (This is how I try to forget my frustrations). He told me he knew full well that this was a killer habit but still, he said, he did it to lessen his pain.
I studied several people to understand why they live in frustration and pain. There is no real reason for this, except for having unrealistic goals. As people grow older and are looking for a job, they often fail, because of their own ambition, and their inability to distinguish between what is realistic and what is unrealistic in the job situation.
A realistic job is always do-able; an unrealistic job is quite the reverse. When they take up an unrealistic job and find, throughout the rest of their lives, that its targets are never achievable, they live in a state of perpetual anxiety. Faced with the demands of day-to-day life, neither are they able to leave their jobs nor be comfortable at their job. The result is frustration.
There is a way out: Adopt a unique formula, aspiring for more and settling for less. One is ambitious by nature and, therefore, feels compelled to aim for unachievable goals. At the same time, one should reason and become aware of his inherent weaknesses and accept the fact that no one has the power to achieve all the things that he ideally wants to. Therefore, a successful person is one who adopts the formula of desiring more but remaining satisfied with less.
If you are living content, then you will be happy. But if you are discontented with what you have achieved, you are bound to live in a state of unhappiness. If you become aware of this fact, you will easily be able to fulfil your ambitions and instantly achieve happiness. Happiness is an internal phenomenon; it is not an external achievement.
Jawaharlal Nehru completed his law studies from Allahabad University following which he practised in the Allahabad High Court. He first wanted to make his career in the field of law but he was not successful. He then took the second option of politics and became successful as a politician.
In other words, it means that in this world, there are always several options and if one option does not work, one should take another and try it out. Of course, it is not as easy as it sounds, especially for the less privileged, but the right attitude may help one deal better with life’s challenges.
This is the story of all human beings. Every person should realise that the world in which he has to lead his life, is full of options. All one needs to do is refuse to succumb to despair and instantly embark on an alternative option even if that option was never your first choice. In this world, that is the secret of success. Don’t give up, just try something new and look ahead with hope.
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, who left his physical body on April 21, 2021, four years short of a century, was an Islamic spiritual scholar, who had adopted peace as the mission of his life. Author of more than 200 books, and known for his Gandhian views, he considered non-violence as the only method to achieve success.
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Aspire for more and yet have the courage to settle with the less.
This is indeed the only mantra as well as sutra of a friction free and stress free life for the highly aspirant generation of today who are getting drawn into the reality of a progressive society which requires a fast pace to be in the rat race.
No doubt as a direct fallout of it, remaining camouflaged behind the masks of the modern generation, estrangement frustration and perpetual anxiety to the point of brinkmanship has become the order of the day. Taking recourse to addictions is merely an escape mechanism to deal with the unresolved problems of a highly aspirant society which merely sweeps them further down the drain.
And hence, we must realise that a problem such as this can only be addressed only if we go to its origin which as such is the yawning gap between hope and expectation of the modern generation. Realistic goal is good but still better is contentment which arises out of right understanding. Cultivation of this very understanding requires a balanced state of mind which is not skewed by merely high expectation and lures one to the other end of the bay.
Truly, this is the story of all human beings who keep struggling between hope and expectation to yield their optimum. And by resurrecting hope and taming expectation only we can’t not only be grounded but actualise our dreams which brings forth not merely material prosperity but also contentment and satisfaction.
Thank you Oswald ji, for sharing this beautiful write up of Maulana ji which is rich in practical wisdom.