7. Be Humble
A critical spirit will follow you everywhere you go and you cannot get away from it. You can leave one job angry, upset and bitter and go around saying, “They did not treat me right.” “My boss does not know what he is doing.” “Nobody can do anything right.” However, if you do not deal with the root issue, you will have the same problem at the next job or in your next relationship. You will still think everybody is against you. It is because the problem is inward and not outward.
When I come to the end of my days and stand before God, and He says, “What did you do with the time that I entrusted you with? How did you use the gifts that I gave you?” I would hate to have to say, “God, I spent my life criticizing others, knocking people down and trying to make them look bad, placing the blame on others and stirring everything up.”
Today, you can make the switch. You can work on cleaning your own windows. You can wipe away the judgment, criticism, and fault finding, which may be the things that have held you back for years. So when there is blame or a fault to be found, instead of looking outward, first look inward. Change hatred into love as love believes the best in others and it always sees the good.
Be like joseph. He said,
“And I do not make myself free of blame, for the soul is inclined to sin, except what my Lord has mercy on. My Lord is Forgiving, Merciful”. (Qur’an; 12:53)1
Do not be afraid to look inward and humble yourself before God. After all, when we are humble, we give God the opportunity to promote and bless us. Imam Al-Sadiq2 (peace be upon him) said, “Humble yourselves before God therefore God will exalt you in due time above others”.3 Know that God’s strong hand is on you; and if you look inside and be humble, He will promote you at the right time.
