Youth issues
Set Goals for Yourself
Abu Rajab Attari Madani
A point comes in the lives of young people when they must enter workforce and begin their working life. Successful youngsters begin with setting a career goal and plan the milestones to achieve it. Those who avoid carefully planning their careers usually find themselves lost, without direction.
With the grace and support of Allah Almighty, career planning is an effective exercise that can prove very beneficial in the long run. Here are a few key guidelines to keep in mind when planning your career:
1. Specify the sector you aspire to work in. For example, do you wish to work in the computer field or in printing? Merely thinking that there are many jobs in the world and you will do anything is unwise and potentially detrimental. A man was once walking with four rabbits but they all fell to the ground at once and ran in different directions. The man first ran to catch the rabbit that ran towards the right, but he became tired quickly and returned to his place, then he ran towards the rabbit that went to the left with the intention of catching it, but he was unsuccessful there too, so he went towards the rabbit that ran straight ahead but he returned quickly after becoming tired, and a similar thing occurred with the fourth rabbit.
He was standing in his spot and panting when a wise person passed by and asked what had happened, so he told him everything. The man said, ‘If you had spent all of your efforts in catching one rabbit, you would have been successful in capturing it, however, you spent a bit of your energy trying to capture each of them but you were unable to catch any.’ So, my dear Islamic brothers! If we specify our goal then we will also find our path, and then if we fulfil the conditions required by that path, اِنْ شَــآءَالـلّٰـه, we will reach our goal.
2. Consider more than your material needs when choosing a sector or profession. It’s easy to be lured by the potential prospects and rewards of certain professions but ask yourself, do I agree with the practices of this sector? Do its values align with the values of my faith? Will I have to compromise on Islam?
3. Be realistic and gauge your skillset. If you do not possess the requisite skills or qualifications for a profession then begin by developing those skills. The place of fish is in water, and that of a bird is in the air; you will not succeed in a profession that you are ill-equipped for.
4. Find your passion! As a multi-talented and adaptive person, you may succeed in a range of careers. However, look for the profession that you are enthusiastic about and could spend a lifetime working in. If the role is boring or tedious, you may find your motivation levels taking a sudden drop very soon.
5. Research the market and demand for the sector you are interested in. For example, if you have decided to work in translating Urdu to Persian, consider how many people in your region understand Farsi and how many would require an Urdu document to be translated into Persian.
6. If your parents have already decided that they want you to pursue medicine or engineering, then ponder over it. If you have the ability to fulfil their desire, you should do so. However, if they are adamant on you becoming a doctor but you have no real interest in science, rather, you have an inclination towards architecture, show determination and respectfully explain this to them, and then seek your goal in the shade of their supplications.
7. Consult people from the sector to learn about the otherwise hidden aspects of the sector.
8. Be determined! Fix a goal and work hard in its pursuit. Those who constantly change their aims never succeed.
9. Prioritise your responsibilities. In the planning and pursuit of temporary worldly goals, do not forget that there is a permanent Hereafter that you must also prepare and be ready for. May Allah Almighty grant betterment to both of our goals.
اٰمِیْن بِجَاہِ النَّبِیِّ الْاَمِیْن صَلَّی اللہ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلہٖ وَسَلَّم
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