The easiest way to reform oneself

Every man of us attempts to reform and change himself, whereas some people feel despair of reforming it and believe that reformation is impossible. In these lines I shall mention some easy ways that help you change and reform yourself.

The first way is: Begin with the easiest step:

Search for something that is easy to change in your life and begin with it such as reading a page every day, or saying a good word every day for those who treat you badly, and so on. Search for other easy ways which shall give you a bigger motive toward reforming and changing yourself.

The second way is: Reading:

Be keen to read about change and self-reformation in the stories of the successful and the news of the great people and how did they reach the top.

The third way is: Reward:

Reward yourself for the success you achieve in reforming yourself even if it is little because reward is one of the best incentive ways for change.

The fourth way is: Permanent thinking in change:

Always think in reforming yourself but without exaggeration and make these ideas push you forward to change even if for few steps. Ibn Al Qayyim, may Allah be merciful with his soul, said: "Know that ideas and insinuations lead to thinking, and thinking leads to remembering, then remembering changes thinking into a will and a will moves organs and make them work then it becomes a habit" [1].

The fifth way is: Invocation:

This is the easiest way and one of the most useful means in achieving objectives. Ibn Al Qayyim, may Allah be merciful with his soul, said: "Likewise invocation which is one of the strongest reasons in pushing away harm and achieve all you need, but the matter may be different either because of its weakness as invoking Allah with something against His Will or because of the weakness of the heart and not approaching Allah, so it will be like a bow which shoots a weak arrow. Sometimes, it is because there is something that prevents the answer such as ill-gotten sustenance, oppression, the effect of sins on the heart, and the control of negligence, lust, and play and their effects on the heart" [2].

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[1] Al Fawa'id, p. 174, edition 1, Dar Al Kutub Al `Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1393 AH - 1973.

[2] Al Jawab Al Kafy, p. 9, edition 1, Beirut, Morocco, 1997.