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Motivational article written for the Quality Unit of Majmah University 28th February 2011 by Dr Omar Hasan Kasule MB ChB (MUK), MPH (Harvard), DrPH (Harvard) Professor of Epidemiology and Bioethics at the Faculty of Medicine King Fahad Medical City Riyadh
This is the first in a series of 'quality bits' that I will be writing. The initial batch of articles will lay out the vision of quality. The following batch of articles will deal with practical aspects of achieving quality teaching, quality research, and quality management. I wanted to start by addressing you as an individual and to motivate you towards self-improvement. Quality is an inner dimension is a person and it reflects inner motivation to improve and get better.
Self improvement requires effort. You must make the intention to be a better person and take action to achieve your goals. Life is not chance. Everything that occurs is pre-destined. You however do not know your predestination. You have to work hard, search for it, use your will power and choice that Allah gave you. Accept personal responsibility for mistakes. Do not blame others for your problems. Learn from your past experiences, positive and negative. Good manners or experiences should be reinforced while bad ones should be avoided.
Self improvement requires having clear objectives. Well formulated objectives give us a sense of focus and a sense of direction. In formulating these objectives you must learn to distinguish between what you want and what you need. Wants are emotional; needs are rational. Always choose needs over wants. Be realistic. Do not live in a dream world. Dreaming is good in motivating you and developing your creative thinking. Dreaming has limits if it obscures correct perception of reality. Never entertain illusions about your strengths and weaknesses. Never deceive yourself. Never allow others to deceive you by praising you and giving you attributes you lack. Such persons are your true enemies. Confront your weaknesses and do not deny them. Do something about correcting them
Self improvement requires a positive attitude. Develop a positive attitude. Be optimistic and develop positive behavior. The world is essentially good and the hereafter much better. There is more good than evil. You can always succeed in the long-run if you do not become pessimistic and give up. Look at problems of life in perspective. What may look big may not be so in the long run. You may hate today what turns out to be good tomorrow. See and emphasize the positive in any problem.
Self improvement requires a futuristic outlook. You should consider yourself as living in the future. Life on earth is just a transition. Always prepare for the future (both what remains of your life on earth and life in the hereafter). A futuristic outlook will enable you to deal with setbacks of life. You should always know that the future could always be better.