Thursday 24 May 2007

Make an Investment

After Fajr (dawn) prayer in the Masjid today I took my regular seat and observed the elders in the Masjid taking theirs, as they do every day to read Qur'an. In doing so, I sat and thought, that is really good of them; they disturb their early morning sleep for no other reason than to hear the Words of their Lord. The thing is, however, the question came to mind, given that they understand very little (if anything) of what they read, have they never thought to invest some time to improve the way they do what they spend so much time doing?

When I got home, during my post-Fajr pre-sleep reading I came across this quote, which I think provides the answer:
"Some people play tennis all their lives but never get better. Those people are not willing to take a fresh look at what they do or to consider changing it. Good players recognise that getting better often means making an investment in new approaches. For a while they may get worse as they wrestle with new and unfamiliar techniques, but eventually they surpass their old plateau." (Source: 'Getting to Yes - negotiating agreement without giving in')

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