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One of the simplest yet most powerful ideas I learned from Stoicism is this: focus on what you can control.

Interestingly, this idea was always around me. In Buddhism too, there are teachings about detachment, acceptance, and awareness. But over time, many traditions became more religious and complex in their expression. Stoicism presented the same wisdom in a much simpler and more practical way.

I also came across a similar idea in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. He explains it through the concept of the “Circle of Influence” and the “Circle of Concern.”

The Circle of Influence contains the things we can change, improve, or directly impact. The Circle of Concern includes the things we worry about but cannot truly control.

Most people waste their energy in the Circle of Concern — politics, other people’s opinions, the past, or the uncertain future. But growth begins when we focus our attention on the Circle of Influence.

I often wonder whether Covey’s idea was also influenced, directly or indirectly, by Stoic philosophy. The similarity is striking. Thinkers like Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius repeatedly emphasized the same principle: some things are within our control, and some are not. Wisdom lies in knowing the difference.

If you want to move forward in life, the first thing you need is hope.
Life will always bring challenges, adversity, and uncertainty. When we go through difficult times, we often become overly realistic, and that realism slowly turns into negativity. We begin to expect the worst before it even happens.

Many people believe that our thoughts shape the direction of our lives. In simple words, what we constantly think about begins to influence us. What we seek, in some way, also seeks us.

In Desi culture, this idea is close to the law of karma:
“Kar bhala ho bhala.”
Do good, and good eventually returns to you.

The best way to move forward is to first accept life as it is, and then continue hoping for the best. Acceptance does not mean giving up. It means understanding reality without losing faith in tomorrow.

There is a beautiful idea often repeated in philosophy:

“If you take care of today, the future will take care of itself.”

Most of our fear about the future comes from imagining problems that have not even happened yet. Instead of living in the present moment, we suffer inside our minds.

As Seneca said:

“We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.”

Hope does not mean sitting idle and waiting for life to change on its own. Hope means staying positive while continuing to take action. It means moving forward even when the path is unclear.

Marcus Aurelius expressed this beautifully:

“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”

Many times, we do not suffer because of reality itself. We suffer because of the fear of what might happen. The mind creates storms long before life does.

That is why the antidote to fear is hope.

Be hopeful.
Take action.
Focus on today.
And trust that small steps forward eventually create a better future.

During the Eid holidays, I had set out to accomplish a few things — most importantly, finishing the custom module I had been working on. But as always, when the time actually came, laziness crept in. Family obligations started to pile up, and I found myself wanting to simply enjoy the company around me. After all, these were Eid holidays.

Still, I pushed myself to stay disciplined and put in the effort. In the end, I managed to complete about 70% of what I had planned.

And that, perhaps, is the gap we rarely talk about — the distance between how we plan things, and how they actually unfold.

عشق زارو نہیں وچ تارے
سچ آکھ وڈبا اے او
ہاشم لوگ کرم گام آویں
اساں بعد تارا ہن آپیؤں

Romanized (approx.):

Ishq zāro nahī̃ vich tāre,
Sach ākh wadābā eyo.
Hashim, lok karam gām āven,
Asān baad tāra hun āpiyō̃.

Couplet attribute to Hashim Shah

To overcome any addiction or bad habit, there are generally two approaches: cold turkey and incremental change. Both have their own strengths and limitations.

Cold turkey means making a firm decision and stopping the habit completely—at once. After that decision, there is no negotiation. Cravings appear, cues arise, but you take no action. This approach demands strong willpower and consistent effort. It is not easy, but it can be very effective. It is often said that it takes around 21 days to build a habit, and in a similar way, it takes time and discipline to break one.

The second approach is gradual or incremental change. In this method, you slowly reduce the habit instead of stopping suddenly. This usually involves less pain and feels more manageable. For example, my best friend quit smoking using this approach. He was addicted to finishing an entire pack of cigarettes in a day. Over time, he reduced the number little by little—until it eventually reached zero.

In my view, incremental change works well for building good habits, because it feels sustainable and gentle. But when it comes to breaking a bad habit, the cold turkey approach is often more effective. It may be harder, but with the right attitude and commitment, it brings faster clarity and lasting change.

یہ سوال ہمیں اپنے آپ سے ضرور پوچھنا چاہیے جب ہم غصّے میں ہوں۔ یہ ایسا سوال ہے جس کا کوئی سیدھا جواب نہیں، لیکن یہ ہماری سوچ اور سچائی کو بدل سکتا ہے۔ اور جب آپ یہ سوال اُس وقت پوچھتے ہیں جب آپ کسی وجہ سے پریشان ہوں تو اس کا اثر اور بھی گہرا ہوتا ہے۔

صوفی، سنت اور فقیر یہ سوال اُس وقت پوچھتے ہیں جب اُن کا ذہن شور مچا رہا ہوتا ہے۔

ہر چیز سوچ سے شروع ہوتی ہے، اور سچائی کو بھی سوچ کے ذریعے بدلا جا سکتا ہے۔

تو آج کا لاگ یہیں ختم کرتے ہیں۔ اس سوال کو اُس وقت استعمال کریں جب آپ ڈسٹرکٹ ہوں، ذہن کو کنٹرول کرنا ہو، یا غیر ضروری خیالات چل رہے ہوں۔

Sitting in my room, I did not do anything important this week end. I feel Naazar lagi gee. Kuch kernay koo dill hi nahee ker raha.

But before going to Sleep this theme song came in to my mind.

For whom, I did not know.

• Mohobbat iss qadar rooh ke dar aayi hai, (Love has come to the door of the soul like this)
• Lamhon lamhon mein yeh aankhein bhar aayi hai, (In moments, these eyes have filled up)
• Mohobbat…
• Tumhein chaahne ki qeematein hai ki adaa, (The price/way to want you is this…)
• Saasein mohlat qarz-e-giryaa se le kar aayi hai, (Breaths have taken time from the debt of tears)
• Mohobbat…
• Socha tha chale jayenge humaare khwaab-o-khayaal, (Thought we would go away in our dreams and thoughts)
• Khwabon ki woh saer laut ke ghar aayi hai, (That walk of dreams has come back home)

Hello friends, in this two video, I shared the summary and extraction of books