#DearChronicles Vol. 01 – “Have Faith, Keep Going”

Dear Chronicles,

By Nuroule Atikah

#DearChronicles’ first entry was written in by our very own alumni of Level 14, Nuroule Atikah. Some of you may remember her as the cute, bubbly speaker at APAcS Toastmasters Club’s first series of 14Talks held last year.

Nuroule started off her foundation in CAT at UiTM Shah Alam in January 2009, extended her completion by a year, faced several failures during her ACCA studies and finally but successfully, graduated 6 years later in April 2015! This inspiring lady is now an associate at PwC.

1. Surely you’ve had your fair share of ups and downs during your studying period. What was your greatest struggle? And how did you overcome it?

The greatest struggle for me were my thoughts and doubts. I have repeated F7 three times and extended my CAT for a year. So in my view, I really felt like I can’t do this (ACCA). Like I just can’t and it has already been proven that I couldn’t. So what’s the point in trying anymore when it’s all proven right? No. Wrong.

Somewhere along the way, I learned that life is not about your past, it’s not about what statistics or people says, it’s not about likelihood and so forth. It is more about what you choose and how you make out of it.

I was so used to failing. I let my thoughts slip into failure mode. I was so negative about everything until I decided someday, let’s just try to do one positive thing. And that lead to another positive thing and another and the next thing I know, I felt like everything was possible, with a positive mind and of course, the will of God.

Point here is, a positive mind changes a lot of things and your past will not determine you. Rather, that small steps you make for betterment is what eventually builds your future.

So be positive, start small even if it means being in touch with an old friend, or to clean up after you eat at a public place. Start small somewhere.

Here, as Lao Tzu says it, it all starts with your thoughts, your mind. So have a positive mindset. It is so imperative for one to do so because more often than not, you have no clue what life has planned for you. So start now, be positive. Make that one positive act each day, and InsyaAllah, before you know it, no matter what life throws at you, you’ll rise from it like a champ!

2. Preparing for finals is not easy especially when it comes to actually doing it. Sitting down to revise, practicing questions, etc. How do you motivate yourself? Any tips on how to stay motivated?

Remember that with effort, comes results. With every pain, comes happiness. With hardship, comes ease. With every night, there will be a morning. So whenever you feel like falling off, and when everything feels so hard, remember that this feeling is temporary. And that the reward of the pain is just there waiting for you to have it. So no worries, don’t give up. Just keep going. The reward will be yours.

In my case, I had a photo of me graduating for my CAT. I decorated it with glitters, for my personal liking. I told myself, I’m going to graduate again and that day will come. All this pain will lead me there, I just have to keep going. That was how I motivated myself, reminding myself of what awaits me at the end of this journey.

3. Life is full of uncertainties and we have no control over the end result. Some of the outcomes went sideway and made us feel like giving up. What would you like to share with those who feel like they are falling behind in life?

Everything that happens, happens for a reason. You may not see it now, but it’ll be one of the things you’ll be very thankful for someday. So don’t feel that you’re falling off. You’re going through a blessing in disguise. There has to be and will be “treasures” and by that I mean people, experiences, learning curves that will only make you stronger and an improved version of yourself.

So embrace it. Embrace the lessons learned. Embrace the pain, for without pain and sadness, there can never be joy and success. Embrace the new things you learn in that journey, a step at a time.

No, you’re not falling behind, you’re just taking a slightly longer route, with so many new exciting things to learn along the way. Embrace it. Greater things will come by for life is just like an arrow. The more is being dragged backwards, the more likely you’ll be launched into something great. Have faith. Keep going.

 

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#DearChronicles is a new column introduced to invite our readers, whoever you may be, to write, share and inspire!

Submit your writings to imcrew14@gmail.com.
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