In a creative writing class I took awhile back, the teacher gave an exercise to do for character development. At the time, it struck me that it would be a great add-on to the very first chapter of Release Your Inner Queen of Sheba!
Now, I’ve been told that as simple as the first protocol may seem at first, the need to really spend time on it and get it right will make the rest of the process easy. While I was doing the live seminar - I tended to move quickly past it (there never is enough time!) and so I hope that this exercise will further enhance what is already in the book inshaAllah.
The exerise is originally intended to help fiction writers get in tune with the characters in their stories, but I think it will really help us to understand who we are – the very first step in harnessing our inner strength inshaAllah.
Grab your notebooks on a beautiful day when you’re sure to have some quiet alone time and complete the following about yourself:
1. I am….
2. My latest accomplishment…
3. When I get scared I…
4. I am no longer….
5. I feel good about….
6. First thing in the morning I…
7. My next step is….
8. I get angry when…
9. It makes me laugh when…
10. One day I know I will…
11. In my free time I….
12. I hide when…
13. One thing I want to tell the world is…
It’s an exercise in self-discovery that shines a light on things you might not have realized – and the discoveries might just give clarity to your days and your projects and help you see that you are beautiful and capable. May Allah SWT make your days fruitful:)
Oh, and if you’re wondering what’s up with the post title – it’s based on an Egyptian saying (I’m sure other cultures have their own versions) “The monkey in the eyes of its mother is a gazelle.”
What does that mean to you?
Salam Alekum,
Mashallah uplifting article as usual.. keep up strengthening us
hey your self-discovery exercise is hard, i could not get it all done lol
but what i can say about the title is that we human see our personality and character as almost the best (Ghazal) that we don’t see our faults (we don’t see the monkey part)..that’s why we should get rid of the ego and the arrogance that make us blind of our own self defects and as it said.. rectify yourself before rectifying others.
So I tried translating that in Urdu, but it got too literal…I thought it meant that mommies will always think of their babies as awesome even if the babies tend to do not so awesome things..:)
Take care. Salams.
soosoo, it’s a process, we always keep trying to improve ourselves and Allah knows best!
Rukhpar Mor, yes, something like that. I think it also has to do with the fact that a mother is going to see that her child is perfect and love him/her unconditionally.