Everyone has goals in their lives that they want to accomplish. Some goals may seem far-fetched while others may seem more probable. The fact of the matter is that knowing where to go is one thing while knowing how to get there is a whole different ball game. For example, If you’re a serious student you must have a goal to have commendable grades in your classes but merely having that goal will not help in actually attaining it.
Naturally, life cannot be lived without having any goals. Life would be meaningless without it. The real question is how you can accomplish those goals. As I mentioned earlier, just knowing where you want to go will not necessarily mean you’ll get there. It depends on many factors. Your willpower, resilience, motivation, discipline, and attitude will all play a large role in completing your goals.
Wouldn’t you want the discipline and routine to accomplish every goal that you ever set out to achieve? This may seem very improbable, but trust me, with what you’ll learn today you will not only accomplish all your goals but do so with the utmost quality and ease. There’s just a simple procedure that is required from you. A simple method taught by Rasulullah ﷺ that if practiced will take you to places you’ve never imagined. And that is, to Begin With The End In Mind.
Hadith Of Beginning With The End In Mind
Rasulullah ﷺ taught a very important principle with regards to accomplishing one’s goals. He said: Actions are judged according to those done at the end. And on another occasion, he advised: a matter is evaluated by the way it ends.
From these two Hadith, we understand the crux of the action is how it ends. No matter how good your planning or your execution is, if your ending is botched then the whole structure falls. The principle teaches us that the end is the main part and hence you should begin with having the end as clear as possible in your mind. Naturally, the end comes last. Therefore, evidently, you won’t be able to begin your routine from the end. That’s why the principle talks about having the end visualized in the mind.
The Hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ tells us that actions are judged by the end, and so we recognize the importance of thinking of the end. This is often forgotten when we live our lives paying such little attention to how we are living it. This is important to understand. Understanding this little principle may change your life for the better. Always, no matter what you begin, begin with the end in mind.
Examples To Understand The Principle Better
Construction
Some professionals have to do this all the time. For example, constructing a building or a house. Before shoveling even an inch of the ground, the architect will make a blueprint. They will have a blueprint ready and every detail of the house mapped before construction even begins. When all the construction material is gathered and it’s the first day of construction, they’ll begin with the final product(the end) in mind. Any flaw in the blueprint or calculation will directly result in a physical flaw. Hence, it is important to be able to visualize it.
Studies
As a student, this hadith might work wonders for you. When you start your school year or semester, apply the hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ in your life. Stick it onto your agenda if you have to. Understand that He ﷺ taught you that your entire year or semester will be judged by how you conclude it. So if you want to apply this teaching of Rasulullah ﷺ in your life what will you do? Will you start worrying about the end when the end is near, or will you start preparing for the end from the very beginning of the semester?
To really take advantage of this hadith you need to wholeheartedly visualize how you want to end your year. On your first day of class, you need to visualize what grade you want to have in that respective class. Set a realistic and attainable goal. Work towards achieving that goal every day until the end arrives. You must really visualize how you see yourself ending the semester.
Workout
The same applies to working out. Begin working out by having clear goals of where you want to be. If on the first day you do 10 push-ups or run only 500 meters and you visualize yourself doing 100 push-ups or running for 5 km, then work towards achieving that goal one step at a time. The prerequisite of the principle to work is that you need to work with your goals in mind.
I’m sure you can recognize the pattern and understand how in every facet of life this principle can work for you.
Incident With Rasulullah ﷺ
At this point, I would like to share with you an incident that took place with Rasulullah ﷺ. In the battle of Khandaq, a battle fought to protect Madina, Rasulullah ﷺ and the Muslims dug trenches around the city. While digging, a large boulder prevented them from continuing to dig. Rasulullah ﷺ took notice of that and struck it three times resulting in the boulder moving. Each time he struck it, there was a brilliant spark of light that flashed.
When Salmaanؓ and the other Sahabahؓ spoke about this to Rasulullah ﷺ, they asked him what the meaning of the light was. Rasulullaah ﷺ explained, “On the first occasion, the palaces of Heera and the cities of the Persian Emperor were lit up for me, shining. Jibra’eel then informed me that my Ummah shall conquer these places. On the second occasion, the red palaces of Rome were lit up for me, shining. Jibra’eel then informed me that my Ummah shall conquer these places as well. Eventually, on the third occasion, the palaces of San’aa were lit up for me, shining. Jibra’eel again informed me that my Ummah shall conquer these places. You should therefore rejoice about this.”
This was most definitely a miracle from Allah. He showed Rasulullah ﷺ the land they would capture, while they were busy ensuring their city survives another day. Bear in mind that these kingdoms were considered superpowers of the time. Therefore, for Rasulullah ﷺ to claim these places would fall under the reign of Muslims was unimaginable for that time. That although they may be digging a trench at this moment to protect the survival of a relatively small city, most certainly, in the end, a time will come when the superpower of the world will be under their reign.
This incident left a major impact on the lives of Sahabahؓ. You need to understand that they believed everything that Rasulullah ﷺ said. It must be our life’s mission to imitate this behavior of the Sahabahؓ. After having heard Rasulullah ﷺ say once that they would conquer the superpowers of their time, they believed him. There were some enemies of Islam who laughed at the idea, but not the Sahabahؓ.
Wisdom Of Allah And His Messenger
From that day onwards the Sahabahؓ had a vision in mind. They knew where they were headed because they believed Rasulullah ﷺ. From that point onwards, they had, in the back of their minds, faith that one day they would conquer great lands. This is the wisdom of Allah and his messenger. What you’re about to read, read carefully and a couple of times, to better take in and understand it.
The sahabahؓ and the Muslims were in dreadful conditions at that time. The enemies of Islam came with full force to destroy the capital of Islam. They were fighting to protect their city, and to do so they dug a trench. You must understand digging a trench is no easy task. Below is the image of the length of the trench the Sahabahؓ dug for that occasion.
Imagine the arduous task that the Sahabahؓ were trying to accomplish to protect their land. It is narrated that on that day it was a cold morning and most did not have anything to eat. Picture this, the sahabahؓ in such a terrifying situation, cold and starving yet working hard. Look at the wisdom of Allah, he knows that the people are in a desperate situation for the time being but that time period is necessary to achieve their goal. And Allah showed Rasulullah ﷺ a glimpse of that end goal.
This was a message for all the Muslims to come. You might feel that today you’re not making a big difference, but once you begin with the end in mind, you will understand that your current actions and exhaustion are not in vain, rather for a purpose. When you start running, running 500 meters might feel exhausting at first but when you have your end goal in mind, of running 5km, you will tenaciously pull through. With that ideology, you will move closer to your goal every day.
Leadership Vs Management
As mentioned earlier in my intro, knowing where you’re going and actually getting there are two different things. The sahabahؓ not only knew where they were going but also worked hard to get there. And finally, when they accomplished their goal, they witnessed the prophecy of Rasulullah ﷺ unfold in front of their eyes. The Sahabahؓ strove in the path of Allah because they knew where they were going with it.
How many times have you made an effort for days and months at the end to climb the ladder of success, and get there only to find out that the ladder was leaning on the wrong wall? That’s the difference between leadership and management. So if I were to ask you, what was the failure in this example, Management or Leadership, what would your answer be? Was it due to poor management or leadership that you ended up on top of the wrong ladder? The flaw is in the leadership! To reiterate, Management is efficiently climbing the wall, whereas leadership is leaning against the right wall. Leadership deals with direction while management deals with speed and efficiency.
Leadership deals with direction, values, what you are about, and what you value and management, on the other hand, is all about how to accomplish that efficiently. Focus and orientation. For example, you have a project you need to finish. You have your plan and goals before you execute it. You have to execute around your values. You can’t explain calculus to someone without him understanding algebra first. And you can’t teach algebra to someone without them having an understanding of basic math. Some things come before other things. Everything happens at its appointed time. Some people’s lives are well managed and poorly led. And sometimes it’s the other way around. Well-led but poorly managed.
Both are important but leadership always comes first. Because you need to know where you’re going before you set out on your journey.
You Play Many Roles In Life
Put your life in a larger perspective. Stand apart from your life. Attend your own funeral. What do you think the people would have to say about you? Your family, friends, neighbors, what would they say about you? Think of your roles. All the roles that you’re playing in your life. You have a number of different roles in life. Then think of goals in each of these roles. Where do you want to end up in these particular roles?
If you’re a father, how do you want your son or daughter to remember you? If you’re an employer how do you want your employees to remember you? If you’re a student how do you want your teachers to remember you? You play hundreds of roles and you might not even recognize the impact of it. You have this golden opportunity to impact the lives of people around you. Don’t take your roles for granted. For each role begin with the end in mind. And really visualize that end, with as much detail as possible.
Keeping that in mind, write these things down. Ask two questions: what am I about and what is it that I value. Then create goals for each one of the roles in your life.
Conclusion
To conclude, understand that you must begin with the end in mind. This principle taught by Rasulullah ﷺ can be used to macro manage your life, but to also micromanage it. You can take it one day at a time too. For example, Today is the 4th of March, the beginning of a new month. Now apply the principle; begin with the end in mind. Always have the end in mind! On what note do you want to end this month? Where do you want to be financially, socially (we spoke of the roles), and mentally?
This little principle is so crucial to understanding, but once understood and practiced it will work wonders for you! To end, I would like to share an anecdote of mine. I once shared this same principle of Rasulullah ﷺ with a college student. I told him that this is the beginning of your new semester, you must begin this semester with the end in mind. You must attend each class with the end result in mind. Once you give an exam, visualize it with as much detail as possible, that you’re waking up, logging into your college account, and seeing the grade you want to see. Visualize that you have the report card or exam in your hand, and written on top is your desired grade. It’s been well over a year since I shared this principle with him and he has told me on many occasions that this simple habit has changed his entire academic performance drastically.
Find out for yourself. Begin with the end mind because Rasulullah ﷺ said: Actions are judged according to those done at the end.