YMAA Leadership Retreat 2012

Last week, I had one of the best experiences of my life. I was given the opportunity to attend a leadership retreat for four days. And what an incredible four days they were!

Right from the get go, there were challenges. Fairly small, but still challenges nonetheless. A two-round application process; speaking w/manager at work and getting the days off to attend; figuring out a way to make a payment after some technical issues. But they were resolved fairly quickly.

The bigger challenges came after being accepted. My biggest challenge was being asked to drive to the retreat and bringing three other folks that were selected to attend. Driving - not really a big deal right? Well, it was for me. For anybody who knows me, knows that I had a huge fear of driving. And I mean HUGE. When I was younger, my mom and me were involved in a horrible car wreck...needless to say the fear was embedded since then. But slowly, I started to overcome the fear and began driving fairly regularly as of last year (around May as well). I only drove fairly short distances (maybe about half-an-hour distances because I never had to go to far). So the challenge to drive four hours to a retreat definitely was making me feel nervous. But with the help of the folks in my car and more importantly of Allah (SWT), I overcame this challenge as well. By the way, the drive was incredible. Just looking at nature on the way there...it was so incredibly peaceful.

At the retreat itself, we had a fairly packed schedule with workshops & activities. The challenges that came here were learning about myself. I've taken leadership courses before since I studied Business in college & university; but I personally believe a person will always learn something new about themselves. And I was able to figure out some more things about myself: my strengths; my values; my weaknesses; my limitations; my abilities; and most importantly, my potential. There was also the challenge of creating a business plan and presentation in a very short time frame. But we were all able to overcome that as well (albeit a rough copy, but so many incredible ideas nonetheless).

Another challenge for me was going out of my comfort zone on my daily routine: waking up, showering, drinking my morning tea, and getting on with my day. The first challenge was the lack of sleep. The first day was a bit rough, but once you get in the flow and keep busy, it becomes easier. The other challenges felt smaller and I didn't think about them much once the day started. Another challenge was eating breakfast...I generally have a hard time eating before 11AM. But if I didn't eat at the allotted time (i.e. 8AM), I'd be hungry till about 2PM. So I ate lightly, and was fine. There was also no cell phone reception...it had me worried at first but a huge blessing because it allowed me to enjoy the environment I was in so much more.

The last challenges will be on-going. The smaller challenge is implementing the project that we are working on. I see this as a smaller challenge because the passion that everybody showed & has makes me truly believe we'll all be successful in carrying out our projects. The bigger challenge is creating a change. Why is this a bigger challenge? Simple answer: before we can change the world, we need to change ourselves. I won't speak for anybody else at this point. Anybody who knows me well has seen me evolve and change, especially throughout the past few years. The harder part is making sure not to stay stagnant. It is always important to grow, and growing in a positive way is a challenge. But I believe I can achieve it. I can't describe why...I just have a strong feeling and firm faith in myself.

Outside the challenges, the most incredible part was being at one with nature during the retreat. Just standing in front of the body of water in front of me, the sun shining down, trees on both sides, and gorgeous weather. So incredibly peaceful. Just standing there, with my eyes closed, taking deep breaths, thinking.....how endless are the bounties of the Lord? The answer: limitless.

I have a poem I wrote called "Meet Me"; and the scenery from this retreat fits the poem so well. Here is a picture:

The biggest lesson I learned was not to doubt myself or my abilities. I learned this in many ways (as mentioned above). I learned to appreciate things a lot more, especially the environment. I also created more networks, made some new friends. That's always a blessing in itself. I got to share some poetry with folks, as well as my 'Quotes of the Day' with people. Overall an incredible, incredible experience to say the least.

One final note: I have to give a HUGE shout out to my best friend Lekha. Since there wasn't any cell reception, I couldn't update my 'QotD' on Facebook. I asked her to update it for me, and she took the time to do it. If anybody wants to know how a best friend should be, Lekha is the prefect example. But that subject is for a different day. Thanks again ketchup buddy!!