Care for a Race? On your marks, get set… GO! Adrenaline rushing through bodies. Everybody in the race wants to be the first to get to the finish line. Life is a race, and we are racing to al Akhira. As Muslims we have to do all things with ihsaan. If we are doing well, we have to strive to do better. One thing that will help get the best out of ourselves is being in a competition. Can you imagine being in a race while there is no one running next to you? You could be crawling and still be winning the race, or being in a race while your competition has no shoes on and is just walking along the track? This wouldn’t motivate you to do your best in the race either. In our race towards the Hereafter you NEED good companionship. And part of being productive is that you make sure you surround yourself with people who give their utmost best in everything they do. This will motivate you to be like them or to be even better than them, without looking down on them. This is also how the companions were – in a healthy competition to attain the highest level of Jannah – together. But still, everybody wanted to be FIRST. Have you ever been with a group of people, and after salah someone stands up to pray the voluntary prayer? Then another person stands up and before you know it, everyone is praying. If you get involved with the right crowd, you could end up with a few new friends who will be happy to constantly keep you in check for your actions and more importantly, non-actions. Now that’s effective teamwork for success. This is a secret weapon for many successful people who can’t afford to let procrastination creep into their lives. They keep company of other action-takers to keep motivating them to push on. Bottom line: Having good companionship increases your productivity – a lot! Practical tips: 1. See who influences you the most. Do they influence you in good or bad ways? Hang out more with the people who influence you to do good. 2. Set a good example. True productivity means you also help others to be productive; use your ‘social influence,’ whether you have 1000 friends on Facebook or just your own family: work it! 3. Be honest in giving advice. No one is perfect and we all need advice when making mistakes. 4. Be moderate in spending time with friends. “And race one another towards Forgiveness from your Lord and towards a paradise the width of which spans the heavens and the earth. It has been prepared for the God-fearing” [3:133].by The Ayah Journal hit SHARE/TAG