Aiman Azlan's Blog

Someone asked, “I’ve thought about quitting my course because I have no interest in it. What should I do now?” It is very important for you to have an interest in what you are studying. At the very least, that can provide an intrinsic motivation to keep studying and keep expanding your knowledge. If you are not interested in what you are studying, it is very difficult for you to get up in the morning and keep on going. Interest is a good starting point in your journey to build your knowledge and skills in the subject matter. The journey is long and hard, so having interest as the intrinsic motivation is important to reduce the likelihood of burning out. Along the journey, that interest can evolve into passion. If you are not interested what you’re studying, then you have two options. Option 1: You can persevere and see where it goes. It is possible that you will end up sparking an interest in the subject matter. Option 2: You can quit and pursue another path that you find inter...

Usually that question comes from university students. At this point of your life, you should be able to make your own decisions and try things you are interested in. You should be given some room to move on your own, especially in this stage of your life. Perhaps in this stage you don’t know what you like, you don’t know what you passion is, and you don’t know what to do with your life. That is okay. I can even say that it is normal. You are in a stage of your life where discovery and exploration are the norm. You should not rush the process. Besides, life is not a race. Take a time out, sit down with your thoughts, and slowly figure out what would you like to do. You can even start with a guess. When you start your pursuit, things will become clearer and you will modify your goal to something more meaningful to you personally. You can start with a few basic questions: What are some of your interests? What are the things that you want to learn? What makes you feel excited ...

Consider this example: I like to do public speaking. But in order to be good at public speaking, I have to read books about public speaking. Problem is, I don’t like to read, so how? The pursuit of my passion is prevented by this thing that I don’t like to do. Let me begin by reminding all of us this simple rule of life: You don’t always get what you want. Ideally, it will be great if everything that we do follows everything that we desire and like. But in reality, that is not how life works. If you found whatever it is you are interested in and passionate about, but then you have to learn something that you are not interested in, then that is just a part of life’s challenges. Think of it this way: If your goal is worth it, then you will power through the challenge to get to your goal. But if you give up easily, then maybe you don’t want that goal as much as you think you do (or, maybe it’s not your goal to begin with?). There is something that you can do to make the process...

In today's podcast episode, I gave a brief commentary about the first chapter of my book "Unshakeable: How to Be Confident When You're Nervous". I gave my commentary based on this paragraph in the chapter: Our mind is a fascinating gift. Our mind is capable of achieving great things, if only we learn how it works and how to properly use it. Our mind is the looking glass through which we see and understand the world. Come listen to the podcast episode on Anchor . Also available on Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , and Spotify .  

1. Deep Breathing Sometimes life can be overwhelming, so it is important to remember to stop and breathe. Pause what you’re doing, close your eyes, and take a deep breathe. Feel the air coming in and out of you, and savour the moment. 2. Gratitude Journal Take pen and paper. For only 5 minutes, write down the things you have right now that you can be grateful for. Focus specifically on the little things, because we tend to take them for granted. 3. Social Support One or two supportive friends or family members can be powerful enough to help overcome stress. True social support is when the people stay with you no matter what, through thick and thin. At the very least, you have a shoulder you can cry on. 4. Sincere Prayer Consciously enter the prayer with the intention of wanting to connect with Allah. The moment when you stand in front of Him, push the stress away for a moment and find your center. Return to the meaning of your life. 5. Positive Self-talk Be aware o...

1. How to negotiate and debate with people , without getting emotional and ego-defensive to a point where you are unable to think clearly, listen properly, and speak coherently. 2. How to deliver impactful public speech , without the need to read from a text or rely on too many unnecessary gimmicks. 3. How to speak English confidently , such that you are able to carry a conversation with anyone from around the world. 4. How to manage daily stress , without getting burnt out by all the load and crumble under the pressure. 5. How to manage time and commitments well enough , such as the majority of the time is spent on things that will help you reach your goals. 6. How to budget your money so that you don't become sucked into impulsive buying and instant gratification, and you have an investment plan for your future.

Whatever that you do, you will do it with some level of difficulty. That challenge will come whether you invite it or not. In the event that the challenge feels too much to the point where you want to give up, a good place to start contemplating (assuming that you still care to continue the fight) is your intention. Why are you doing it in the first place? The idea is that your intention holds your main motivation. That is where you find the energy to keep on moving forward and keep on fighting. If your intention isn't strong enough or meaningful enough, then your motivation might be short lived.  When things get a bit tougher, you might be compelled to give up or run away. Coming back to the question, why are you doing it in the first place? This is particularly an important question to ask if you are young and you are studying. Why? Because so many young students I met don't even know why they are studying and they go through the motions until things get hard,...