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Continue reading →: The Power of Preventive Choice
Some of the most powerful decisions are the ones we make before things go wrong. That’s what preventive choice means: choosing to protect our health before illness arrives. It’s the simple decision to walk before the doctor tells us to, to eat light before the weight builds up, to rest…
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Continue reading →: Creating a Culture of Happiness
Empathy turns ordinary workplaces into places of belonging. It starts with the simplest acts: saying “You look good today,” “Hope you’re doing well,” or “Let’s grab a coffee.” These are not small words; they are bridges of connection. When colleagues celebrate each other “You inspire me to better myself,” “You…
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Continue reading →: A Simple Self-Care Check-In
Every soul needs a pause: even the strongest ones. The Prophet ﷺ lived with balance. He worked, reflected, played, prayed, and rested. For him, self-care was not indulgence; it was gratitude in action. So check in with yourself today. Did you breathe deeply between tasks, or did the day rush…
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Continue reading →: Compassion Begins Within
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, “The merciful are shown mercy by The Most Merciful.” Yet many of us show mercy to everyone but ourselves. We rush to care for others, forgetting that kindness begins in our own hearts. Self-compassion is not arrogance or weakness. It’s humility in practice: accepting that you,…
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Continue reading →: Digital Belonging: Bringing Our Elders Into the Circle
Today I had the opportunity to represent The Happiness Club at a round table discussion held at the Internet Governance Forum, titled” The Elderly Lens: Inclusion in a Digital Nation.” At The Happiness Club, we often say happiness grows where people feel connected and valued. As the Maldives becomes more…
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Continue reading →: The Prophetic Habit of Gratitude
The Prophet ﷺ began and ended his day in gratitude. “Alhamdulillah” wasn’t just a phrase for him: it was a way of being. Gratitude anchored his heart in peace, even when life around him was turbulent. We often wait for something big to happen before saying thanks. Yet the small…
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Continue reading →: Waves of Wisdom Series: Reflections from Conversations with Dr. Ahmed Anwar (2/5)
(Waves of Wisdom is a podcast by the President of Maldives Professional Speakers Association, Iyaz Waheed.) The Teacher Who Served: From Mysore to Shaviyani Some journeys begin in classrooms. Others begin in compassion. After finishing school at Majeediyya, Dr. Ahmed Anwar’s path took him to Mysore, India, for teacher education.…
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Continue reading →: The Art of Holding Yourself
We are human. We stumble. And sometimes, we make a fool of ourselves. I recently witnessed a highly respected person: calm by nature, admired by many; lose his temper in public. His voice rose, hands flung in the air, face flushed with anger. An accusation had stung him deeply, and…
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Continue reading →: With Hardship Comes Ease (Q 94:6)
Sometimes life feels like a long tide pulling you under. You try to stay afloat, but the waves just keep coming. We’ve all been there: moments when strength feels like a fading echo. Yet, in the Qur’an, Allah reminds us something profound: “Indeed, with hardship comes ease.” (Q 94:6) Not…
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Continue reading →: Habits of a Caring Team
A happy workplace is not built by policy: it is built by people who care. Every act of kindness, every pause to listen, adds to the invisible architecture of trust. A caring team remembers to breathe before reacting. They smile, not because they have to, but because they want to…
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Continue reading →: Peace Begins Within
Today, we live in a time of disruption and distractions that race our hearts and tire our minds. Many of us smile on the outside: while quiet storms brew within. Islam reminds us that peace doesn’t begin in our surroundings, it begins inside the soul. “Verily, in the remembrance of…
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Continue reading →: Waves of Wisdom Podcast: Reflections from Conversations with Dr. Ahmed Anwar
(Waves of Wisdom is a podcast by the President of Maldives Professional Speakers Association, Iyaz Waheed.) From Meedhoo to Majeediyya: The Roots of Wisdom Every journey begins with a story. Dr. Ahmed Anwar’s story begins on the island of Meedhoo, where learning was a way of life, not a luxury.…
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Continue reading →: The story of ALFRESCO
I was reminded of ALFRESCO today. The infamous open yard in the centre of the old STO Trade Centre in Male, before it was summarily erased by the government at the time – which considered the cafe a national security threat. It was an epicentre of the freedom and democracy…
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Continue reading →: The space between reaction annd reflection
As I sat in Cafe’ier today over a pistaschio – and as I scrolled through social media I thought: When we become reactive, we stop engaging our higher faculties: reflection, empathy, curiosity. We shift from being creators of meaning to consumers of noise. In that instant, we lose the pulse…
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Continue reading →: Do Not Get Caught in Emotion
Strong emotions often take us off course. Sometimes they erupt outward as anger or impatience. At other times, they sink inward, becoming worry or despair. Either way, the weight can feel overwhelming. But emotions are not our enemies. They are signs: like waves rising and falling on the ocean. What…
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Continue reading →: The Heart of Empathy in Service
Empathy is not a soft skill: it is the heartbeat of genuine service. Empathy is how we connect, reassure, and comfort those we serve, especially in moments of stress or confusion. When we listen deeply, not just to words but to tone, posture, and emotion, we begin to understand what…
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Continue reading →: When the Sky Fell: Part 3 – Living with It
Healing doesn’t arrive one morning and announce, you’re fine now. It creeps in quietly: a little light after a long night, a little calm in a familiar storm. For me, recovery was never about returning to who I was. It was about learning to live with what I had become.…
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Continue reading →: When the Sky Fell: Part 2 – The Day the Sky Fell
The day I was diagnosed with depression, I thought my world had ended. The doctor’s words echoed like a slow thunder inside my head. I remember sitting there, still and hollow, not sure how to breathe. For a long time, I had been living in confusion. Now it had a…
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Continue reading →: Acceptance
Today I had the joy of meeting a writer whose words feel like quiet healing: Shafa Shamin, author of “Acceptance: The Beauty of Accepting Life and Self.” In a world that teaches us to perform perfection, her writing reminds us to breathe through our cracks: to see beauty in the…
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Smile and Let Smile 