I Am Amazed by the Perseverance of the Sinful and the Incapacity of the Believer

Have you ever watched a film, series, campaign, or ad and thought: what a mess? Their film was terrible, their series was awful, their ad could have been so much better — and on and on with the complaints. Have you ever wondered what the difference is between the person who produces, puts out work, and executes ideas versus the person who just thinks and says: I could make a better concept, I could design something better, I could shoot a better video — an endless loop of "I could" that never turns into anything? Umar ibn al-Khattab said: "I am amazed by the perseverance of the sinful and the incapacity of the believer." You'll find a sinful person with grit and achievement, and a believer who is lazy and forever procrastinating. Any achievement in life requires perseverance, discipline, and grit. The problem is that many creatives and idea-people excuse themselves by saying creativity is chaotic, creativity must be boundless, creativity means waking up whenever you want and doing whatever you want whenever you feel like it — and then they wake up one day having done nothing and achieved a fraction of what others around them — who are less creative — have accomplished. Simply put, creativity without discipline becomes incomplete. It wastes opportunities and closes doors. No matter how strong your creative output or the power of your thinking, if it comes paired with weak discipline and laziness, people will be repelled and will pull away from working with you. The beauty of your ideas and your work cannot compensate for the exhaustion you cause those around you through constant chasing and the need to forgive your lapses. Even if they forgive you early on, over time their enthusiasm will fade and they'll move toward those who are more professional and disciplined — even if they're less creative. It's not just clients who are affected by a lack of discipline; your coworkers are the first to suffer from the chaos, the lack of clarity, and the inconsistency in how things are handled. With less discipline, problems multiply and shift from work issues to personal ones that affect the relationships within the team itself. So if you see yourself as a creative believer, then pair your faith with perseverance and pair your creativity with discipline and patience — doors will open and the world will call your name. For practical application: First, add five hours to your day. Imagine that between Fajr and 10am there are five full hours — sleep early, wake up early, and claim that time for yourself when no one is calling you. Walk, go to a café, meet someone, go to the office, anything. Second, start your day alone — be in the mindset to talk to yourself, think, and figure out what you're doing and what your plan is. Starting your day in a mad rush chasing a meeting or a deadline kills your day and your focus and ruins everything you're trying to do.