Sabah Says…Trust the Journey

There are a few things I could speak about this week: the Barcelona terror attack, which, again, left 13 innocent people dead; Amir Khan and Faryal Makhdoom’s very public, childish spat regarding their divorce, and the Charlottesville attack in the US, where a man rammed a car into anti-racist protestors in Virginia. However, I feel pretty exhausted just thinking about the state of the world at the moment (I’ve felt like this for ages) – there are terror attacks every single week, the masses are still worshipping stupid people who somehow became famous, and Donald Trump is the president of the United States of America. What more is there to say?

So anyway, putting all of that aside, in more positive news, this week I found out that an old friend of mine just secured a radio slot on the UK’s biggest radio station, BBC Radio 1. I cannot even tell you the immense joy that it brings me to see people around me and the same age as me achieving such great things; proof that hard work, determination and self-belief truly do pay off. But, as happy as I was to see his fantastic news on social media, it made me feel a little bit down about my own goals and successes. You see, we both had similar dreams once upon a time. I too, one day, wanted to be working for the BBC – I wanted my own radio show; I wanted to tour the world meeting people and making important social documentaries; I wanted to be hosting events all around the world. But the difference is, he stayed on course to achieve his dreams and amazingly has, while my life took on a whole different direction, beyond my control. Marriage and children entered and flipped my whole world upside down, and although I am so thankful for the beautiful family that I have and am a part of, I can’t help but wonder what I would have been doing in life. I’m sure other parents out there can relate.

All of this got me thinking and reevaluating my dreams and goals, and even though my life has taken a completely different direction to how I ever imagined, I know that whatever I want to achieve, I can and I will – maybe just not in the same way or in the same timeframe that I thought. The same goes for everyone out there who may be feeling or has felt the same.

Society will have you believe (through no fault of your own), that certain milestones need to be reached by a certain age, and when they don’t happen, you can be left feeling pretty useless; questioning yourself, your abilities and even your worth. But what I say is, forget society! Live your life your way, keep pursuing those dreams, believe in yourself and trust the journey – because not everyone’s life was meant to be lived the same. Today I share with you the stories of three amazing people that I am inspired by (among many others) who were knocked down and got back up again with a vengeance…

For me, the common theme among all three of these people is that things happened in their lives outside of their control, knocking them off course – yet they still went on to achieve extraordinary things. And what’s funny is that I think if those things hadn’t happened in their lives, then the outcome of their successes most probably wouldn’t have been the same.
Personally, I believe that we are creators of our own destiny and I also believe that every single thing that happens in our lives happens for a reason. This is why I reiterate that you must believe in yourself and trust in your journey – everything will come to you when the time is right. With hard work, determination, a positive attitude and self-belief, anything is possible. Keep going!

Light & Love, Sabah