Steemit Engagement Challenge S3:W4 - Three things I'd change about myself, and three things I'd keep by @huzaifanaveed1

There's a verse in the Holy Quran:

_{We have bound every human’s destiny to their neck. And on the Day of Judgment We will bring forth to each person a record which they will find laid open. And it will be said, “Read your record. You alone are sufficient this Day to take account of yourself.”
[Al - Quran 17:13-14]}

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What does that mean? As a Muslim we all know there's a book with each and every human being in this universe, in which all the deeds are being written no matter the magnitude of those deeds. Even if you're looking at your parents with a smile, it will be counted as a reward and even if you are sinning hiding from the world, it will be recorded in the book. There's no place to hide from God. So there are actually only two entities in the entire world who know you for who you are. Allah, and you. Maybe even you don't know yourself in depth but one thing is for sure that you know yourself better than anyone else out there.

So, it's good to evaluate yourself from time to time, to mould yourself in becoming a better person. In this post, I'll be doing the exact same thing. I'll be writing down three things that I'd keep and three things, that I'd change about myself. Lets begin:

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THREE THINGS I'D KEEP

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1. OPPORTUNISTIC

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Opportunistic. I'm sorry, but whenever I read or hear the word opportunistic, my mind immediately jumps to opportunistic infections and bacteria such as Candida Albicans and Staphylococcus Aureus. There's a reason these pathogens are known as opportunistic. Why's that? Because they exist usually but don't act. They wait to get the perfect shot. They are ready 24/7 hunting for that exact moment where they can cause trouble. I think I am somewhat similar to them.

I wait for moments to strike, always ready to hunt. I have a lot of example to back my word. Such as on Steemit, even though I had been only on this platform for less than a year, but I took on opportunities. I managed to get some, I lost some but I learned a lot in all of them. I took the Steemit Awards 2021 as an opportunity and struck. I won the Best Author 2021 on Steemit. Did someone see it coming? No. It took time for a lot of people to accept it, infact.

Similarly in my professional life, I create opportunities for myself. There's a difference between in waiting for opportunities and creating one for yourself and I believe creating opportunities is better than waiting for them. So yes, I am an opportunistic person and I'm sure that God will help me in it as He always has.

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2. AMBITIOUS

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What is Ambition? Well, according to google ambition means a strong feeling of doing or achieving something. I think I meet this criteria of being an ambitious lad. I have always been ambitious and a competitive person, since my childhood.

I'm ambitious when it comes to something that interests me. Lets take Steemit as the first example. It was my ambition that took me to heights in the Crypto Academy. It was my ambition that made me Pakistan's first 3x, 4x, 5x, 6x and now hopefully the first 7x Dolphin as well. It was my ambition that made me the Best Author of 2021 on Steemit.

Ambition works best with hardwork. You must have heard the famous dialogue:

_{Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard}

So, being a hard worker is very important. Being ambitious and hard working is the perfect combination. I like to challenge myself in difficult situations and scenarios. I have trained myself that no one is my competition except for myself. This makes me a better individual.

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3. COMPASSIONATE

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This trait has caused me a great deal of ordeal in my life but I have a very strong belief that no good thing goes in vain. So yes, I'll keep on being a compassionate person as I've always been. I am compassionate towards humans and animals alike and I am proud of it.

It hurts me to see a small kitten outside my house, asking me for food. I know thats what animals do, ask for food, but I believe it's an opportunity from Allah for me to eradicate my sins through feeding the animal. Some people say that it's a wrong approach. You should only help someone with the intention of easing their pain but I have a couple of intentions when I do something like that.

1. to help the person/animal

2. to get rewards from Allah.

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Isn't that amazing? You get rewards from Allah if you help someone by going out of your way? I love it. So I try not to waste any opportunity of doing so.

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THREE THINGS I'D CHANGE

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1. SARCASTIC REMARKS AND TAUNTS

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Ah man. I have been trying to get rid of this habit for over years now and I can say that I have progressed a lot but it still hasn't been eradicated from my life completely. I am an extremely sarcastic person which sometimes hurts the feelings of my friends and family. I can't help it sometimes. Giving sarcastic remarks seems like a joke to me but what I fail to realize is that the other person is not enjoying it so much. Sarcasm is good but in limits. Too much of it isn't healthy for anyone. You can see the sarcastic answers being generated in my mind, by just looking at my face. This has helped quite a bit as well. People tend to think twice before trying to cross me lmao.

Taunting is another bad habit of mine and Alhumdullilah I have managed to get rid of it by 95%. Sometimes I cross some lines while taunting someone and I realize it afterwards. It's not a good habit and I'm not proud of it. So yes, I have been working towards it and have been able to get rid of it to a large extent alhumdullilah.

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2. DRAGGING THINGS

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Another trait that I am not proud of and have been working tirelessly to get rid of it. I'll explain what dragging things mean. For example if someone did something wrong to me which made me feel bad and then later on they apologized to me. I won't be too forgiving. I dont know man, I feel hurt and I tend to think that they're apologizing for the sake of it.

I don't let go of things easily and no matter how minor the problem is, I drag it and turn it into a much serious complication. This has affected my relationships a lot. With friends, with family and with people. How do a person get rid of it? I'm open to suggestions.

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3. FUTURE ORIENTED AND TAKING EXCESSIVE STRESS

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Being future oriented is a good thing untill it starts messing with your mental health and peace, that's when you know that you gotta stress over things that haven't happened yet. But it's easier said that done...

Being born in a lower middle class family has taught me a lot things before age I guess. I have learned that money is really important in this world. If you have money, you can quite literally do anything. This was my thought process till a few months ago but in these past few months my perspective has changed a bit. Yes money is important, but it's not everything. This world is nothing but an illusion.

I am in constant fight with myself over this. What's the purpose of life? Is it to earn good money and live a lavish life ir is it to help people by going out of the way? Is it to engage in prayers and satisfy God or is it to work towards a better life? I take too much stress and when I say too much, I guess you won't be able to measure the magnitude of the stress that I take on daily basis. I stress over things that haven't happened yet. I stress over my future. I take stress over Steemit. I take stress over my professional life. I wish to get rid of this. It's not like I haven't tried. I constantly try not to think over minor things. Things that won't even matter in the long run and I can say that I have managed to get a lot better. But my lot better is still a lot stressful compared to normal people.

So yes, this is one of my bad habits that I hope to get rid of as soon as possible.

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CONCLUSION

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That's it from my side. I have openly shared my strengths and my weaknesses and I believe it takes a lot of courage to do that. But one important thing to remember is that you shouldn't let anyone lead your life. You shouldn't let anyone give you stress or hurt you. With that being said, I'll end my blog here. I'd like to invite @crismenia @nadiaturrina and @patjewell to take part in this competition.
Thank you
Regards,

Country Representative Pakistan
Huzaifa Naveed