Istiqamah part 2

I have written about 'istiqamah' before sometimes in July. In that post I wrote about HOW to be 'continuously consistent' in what we do when we do something. Usually it's applied to doing something good.

The same subject was raised again last week end and this time we were informed WHY. The ustaz was saying that it's better to do a little at a time but all the time than splurge everything in one go.

For example. Giving a ringgit a day everyday to the mosque is better than RM50 a month. Or whenever you have that extra cash.

When I heard that I was puzzled. What is wrong by giving away say RM500 a year than RM1 a day everyday?

Isn't it better for example if I were to complete sewing my cross stitch in two days than doing a stitch at a time over two months? I get to use it immediately and can spend the rest of the time doing something else. Right?

Wrong!

You see, the ustaz explained, when you do something no matter how small but on a regular basis, over a long period, it will become a habit. And you will find that something is missing if you for some reason couldn't do it for even one day.

That's exactly how it should feel like. The feeling of lost. Missing that 'feel-good' feeling. And that's Istiqamah.

And after awhile you will find that doing it once a day may not be enough and you want to do more. To get that more of that feel-good feeling.

A good example is the daily prayers. After sometime you feel like doing the solat sunat (before or/and after the solat fardhu). Later you add on the solat duha. Then the witir. And then the tahajud. And so on and so forth.

It will just snowball....

But just remember. When we do bad stuff it will give a similar effect in a way. After awhile you no longer feel guilty over it and it will turn into bad habits.

So, the choice is your folks!