Don't Give Up

The Weight of the World

Life is hard. Our world feels splintered and unstable. We are divided, always Us vs. Them. In this disharmony and chaos, we lose our true selves. It is hard for us to be whole Human Beings.

I think the young have it worst, experiencing less safety and more distractions growing up than those of us of "a certain age." Old paths to security have vanished. "Study hard, go to Uni, get a job" does not have the same promise as it did. Instead, there is more chaos and uncertainty: will AI be our salvation or our demise? Nobody knows!

The Trap of "Doing"

What is our response? It seems natural to ACT, to do something. Try, then if it doesn’t work, try harder. For me, this perspective is critically deficient.

"Knowledge without action is madness, and action without knowledge is vanity." — Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali

If we accept we are not God, we must know that we do not control outcomes. Acting without knowledge is a form of self-delusion. Busy-ness becomes performance, a way the Self shows its own importance. Action without knowledge is voluntary blindness.

My Main Message: Pick a Frame

So how do we act without knowledge? In particular, how can we start? PICK A FRAME.

By that, I mean decide what to pay attention to. What and who you choose to look at and listen to will determine what you see and hear. This will tell you what the world is like. That will help you act. We never see or know the whole situation; we only have a model. Which model we deploy and when has a huge bearing on how effective we are.

A Model for Today: Pragmatic Optimism

I once heard Lord Victor Adebowale talk at a conference. He used the phrase Pragmatic Optimism to describe his outlook. This stuck with me.

Pragmatic Optimism is realistic hope. It accepts that things are hard and some systems are broken, but still believes a better future is possible through intentional effort. For example, a young graduate knows a degree alone isn’t enough anymore, so instead of giving up or waiting for luck, they build real skills, learn continuously, and adapt. It’s not blind faith or giving up, it’s hope backed by action.

Intention vs. Outcome

This brings me back to the world being hard. Yes, it is.

If we remember that we are Humans, not God, we can stop worrying about outcomes. That is God’s domain, masha Allah (by the will of Allah). We are responsible for our intentions and actions. So let us pick a frame and act with knowledge, reminding ourselves that Allah is Merciful.

Looking Ahead: The DOSTE Model

Being conscious of a frame is a start, but it is not enough. The rest of this series introduces a model to help make acting with knowledge easier and more effective. The model is called DOSTE. The D is for dreaming, because without dreaming, it is impossible to live the life of your dreams. More on that next time, inshallah.