RAMADAN: A JOURNEY OF SELF-LEADERSHIP

Like last year, many of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims observe fasting this year. Ramadan is considered the holiest month of the year when Muslims fast from dawn to sunset for thirty days as an act of worship.

It is a journey that was prescribed by Allah swt and always there is great wisdom behind every divine ruling. My belief that is there is a great deal that is hidden behind this holy month that is usually rooted in social gatherings.

Starting with the words of Allah swt through which He mentioned the main reason behind His enjoining of fasting upon Muslims and even upon the people who came before us, as He says in the Holy Qur’an (interpretation of the meaning): “O you who believe! Observe fasting as it was prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become the pious ones” (Qur’an, 2:183).

Attaining piety means doing the right things which God has enjoined and avoiding bad things which He has forbidden. It is about training the self to be the best version in character while practicing the rituals. This involves the cultivation of good habits.

Adopting an approach of self-leadership practice while attaining piety, I hope to help bring a self-leadership pattern that you can follow during the whole month of Ramadan and build your personal strategic plan that is based on a principle-based compass for determining your direction and fulfilling your potential. This compass is based on the acronym FAITH which stands for: focus, awareness, identify, talk the walk, and hold the bar.

At the core of the personal strategic plan is focusing on your strengths and discovering your uniqueness which is critical to your professional and personal development.

• This first strategy is a blend of spiritual meditation and self-reflection. It is your roadmap of action for the upcoming years –providing a basis for a determination on how to be up to the task and how to maintain balance in each aspect of your life and when to take corrective steps if something is going out of balance so you become a more effective servant leader and a person and a good community member.

• The second strategy to follow is selfawareness which leads to accepting responsibility for your own actions, so you don’t blame and accuse others when things go wrong, and you continuously change for the better and accept challenges.

• The third strategy is identifying your own values that can help you improve your affinity and connection with your God almighty, with your family, and with the people around you. They are ethics or ideals that guide you when building relationships, problem-solving, and decisionmaking.

Correspondingly, identifying your core values can help you develop and achieve personal and professional goals. Also, incorporating your personal values in your personal and professional life helps you to stand out as a good person and a leader.