There is a Tiger inside You

The tiger or also known as Panthera Tigris has been used as the symbol of power, bravery and courage by the ancient time and that symbol lives till today. The tiger also shows strong survival instinct which is the most important aspect in facing nowadays unpredictable challenges. It is true to say that everyone of us possesses a tiger hidden inside ourselves waiting to be awaken. The problem is when and how this hidden strength can be related or used to its maximum potential in every field we involved especially medicine since we are the medical students. Who is the person for us to use as an example? Of course everyone the answer that is our prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who had managed to show his capabilities in every field he involved. The proof is in the Holy Book, the Koran;

`Ye have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for any one whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day, and who engages much in the Praise of Allah.`
(33:21)

Besides, we are the chosen ummah in which we must be good, not that but to excel in each field that we involved.

`Ye are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah....`
(3:110)

Nowadays, we can see how the ummah thirsts for knowledge in order to prove that we are on the right path. This is the only way for all of us to bring up the ummah by spreading the knowledge to our ummah and we know that it is not an easy job. This is the reality and the burden that we are holding on to.

“To conquer the world is not weapons, but by knowledge because knowledge itself is the ultimate weapon on its own way. “
( Dean of Medicine Faculty, Cairo University)
But still the question remains unanswered on how we can bring out our tigers in order for ourselves to be the front liners of the ummah. It is simple if you know the ways which is based on As-sunnah and the Koran.

First of all is about the correct way to bring out the tiger inside ourselves is to be open-minded and to have positive thought. `The Secret` said that when you think about something positive, you will gain something positive by interacting with the universe through your brain`s waves. This may sound funny but it is based on logic. For example, we already know that those who have a horrible life are because they keep defining the word `LIFE` as Life Is Foolish and Empty. So, they gain what they always said because words are prayers. This is in contrast to those who define the word `Life` as Life Is Fun and Enjoyable. These people tend to have good or better lives. We are what we say, we are what we do and we are what we believe in.


Narrated 'Umar bin Al-Khattab:
“I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended….”
(From Bukhari`s Collections)

In life, we need to be positive but what is important is to accept something as it is. This can help us to be patient with what we are facing with because we know that everything in life is part of God`s tests to us, to test us. In medicine field too, the patients are asked to be positive minded. Not to expect the worst and else. For example, in cancer treatment, the fact is that the patient is not only asked to depend on chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but they are also asked to be strong to fight the cancer. Why? This is because when you are happy or in a positive state, the body responds by trying to improve your body by stimulating various mechanisms inside your body. Although research proved that positive thinking has no effect in cancer treatment, many still believe that it works. In another research, the women who have fun and positive thinking attitude tend to escape breast cancer more than the women who have negative attitude and stressful life. According the psychologists, this is because the human tend to attract at something good or comfortable. Besides that, if we think by logic, it is applicable for cancer patients to think positive because cancer does not mean the end of life. By having positive thinking, they can do lots of things when they are still able to life rather than feeling sorrow and thinking about the cancer without doing anything.

This principle is the same as the mechanism of smiling and laughing. Smiling can slow down the decaying of your beauty. Those who tend to smile lots will retain his beauty for a long time. Meanwhile, laugh, according to the research, helps to improve body system. This is because during laughing, the body secrete adrenaline which affects the cardiac activities by increasing the work. Besides, by smiling and laughing, you are actually curing others who are sorrow around you. It is like magic that works in all direction.

Besides, by accepting life as it is, you are actually being grateful to the God, in which at the end you will taste the sweetness of life you will not feel sad. Through this attitude, you have train yourself to be caring but what is the most important is that you have become a patient person. This value is among one of the most wanted values in life because it give you the ability to appreciate and to forgive others as well as to control your anger.

Narrated Abu Huraira:

“Allah's Apostle said, "The strong is not the one who overcomes the people by his strength, but the strong is the one who controls himself while in anger."
(From Bukhari`s Collections)

Besides that, as Muslim doctors, we must believe that our job is to come out as a package with the abilities to do anything asked especially in this world`s present condition. Why? This is because the ummah is too weak. But how? The answer is simple. It is through volunteerism. Nowadays, it is hard to find people who are sincere in helping the weak or the poor. As doctors, we must prepare ourselves to volunteer to the society to I order to give the best services especially to the ummah. Through volunteerism, we can gain what is called satisfaction. Why? This is because it is not the same to do something you are volunteered to do with the one that you forced to do. Besides that, by volunteering yourself to your field you are actually challenging the others to strive hard to out rival you achievement. This also helps you to gain courage to prepare yourself for the coming challenges which in the end you will be brave and prepared because the `tiger` inside you is awaken.

“The volunteerism is not for show off but it is achieved by struggling to the front line to show your capability and specialty in a job”
(Professor of CUCMS)

In addition, it is our priority to make sure that we act upon what we believe. It is not wrong to believe in ourselves because the more you believe in yourselves the higher your self-esteem but within limit because in this world you must also learn to accept opinions from others. We have to remember that our present is the result of our past tense. That is why we must have the guts to make decisions especially the one involving the fate of our future not forgetting the ummah too. We have to make sure that every step take must not be under influenced of others. This because every decision we make will be judge by the God one day and we are the one responsible for our deed.

“Remember, how so ever you are played or by whom, your soul is in your keeping alone. Even though those who presume to play you be kings or men of power, when you stand before the God, you cannot say “I was told by others to do thus” or virtue is not convenient at the time. This will not suffice.”
( King of Jerusalem)

This attitude will help us to be strict but in the same time we respect others. This is the principle of syuura which is one the basic rules in Islam. Besides, volunteerism and self-esteem are two values that walk side by side for those who want to be the ummah`s front liners because only those who walk the path of heaven can make the ummah better.

Besides, as medical students we must prepare ourselves towards the challenges ahead of us. We must prepare ourselves for `perfections` especially in giving treatments to the patients but the important thing here is perfection to the ummah. It is not deniable that there is nothing perfect in this world. But we as science people, it is our job to admire perfection and make things more wonderful than their present. For example, in cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, as doctors, we know that these treatments will cause lots of complications to the patient although they can help in curing the cancer, but till now, that is the best option or offer we can give to the patient and all of us know that the there are researches that are still continue on by the scientists to perfect the treatment.

` In this world there is no such thing as perfection. It is our job as those who involve in science field to make things more wonderful than their present`
(Phrase)

Moreover, emotion also plays an important role here towards achieving perfection of the ummah and that feeling is love. Through love, you are willing sacrifice everything you have in order to make the thing or the one you love happy or in other word, complete. For example, a person can be really good at something he likes because this passion and desire which become the strength for him to continue on with what he is doing. A doctor who is passionate with his carrier will not seek to gain benefits through others suffering but tend to help other according to the medical ethics. This passion is a must in order to give yourself the strength to fight with the sheer power of will in order to superior in your field. And if it is fated that you fail, you will not hit the ground hardly or completely, but you will feel satisfy with the effort that you have done.

“I do not care what ever happen to me as long as I can achieve what I want. I will continue on with the sheer power of will. And if it is destined for me to fall or fail, I will accept it laughing”
(Phrase)

Besides that, if you love something with all of heart, you will gain an extraordinary strength and will in order to protect your beloved one. As a doctor, you will do anything in order to save your patient although it means that you need to sacrifice your time, money and energy and if as Muslim, for your ummah, you are willing to sacrifice your own soul. This is when your true strength and wills are show up.

“In order to protect one`s beloved one, only then one will gain true and extraordinary strength”
(Phrase)

Next, it is important for us to focus upon we have get into. This is important because it help to channel our energy to its maximum potential which enables us to strive or struggle hard to achieve the desire that we want. Besides, we must also not to look backward. The phrase `let by gone be by gone` actually is a reflection about the human attitude. We tend to reflect the past which we cannot do anything to change it. We tend to think a lot and feel sorry about the till we forget about something very important ahead of us. Our future! If we compare to the tiger, when the tiger is prepared to leap on its prey, it leaps forward and does not look backward. It is a sign from God to us, the human to learn that we cannot change the past but we can still learn from it to correct or improve the future ahead of us for our next generations.

“Life is too short to start worrying. Let us enjoy and appreciate all of the God`s gifts”
(Phrase)

Besides that, by focusing our minds and energies towards the target, we are actually working with our own will and desire to push and force ourselves to give an extraordinary ability and strength. Actually, we are motivating ourselves. It does not matter either with phrases such as `those who try never fail` or else, but what is matter is that tour bodies are responding to these stimuli. The proof is simple. For example, when we are preparing for the examination, we have gained an extra strength to stay up late, to read lots of books, to do revisions and else. Well, according to the physiological explanation, this is due to the body`s responses towards the stress condition. At this period of time, the body secretes lots of hormone known as adrenaline from the adrenal medullae gland which potentiates the effects of sympathetic nervous system. This hormone acts the best on beta-2 receptors which increases all cardiac properties enhancing the body to ready for stress condition. An increase in cardiac properties means there is an increase in body metabolism rate. The sympathetic also acts to the abdominal viscera through the greater splanchnic nerve which produces the glycogenolysis on liver to give more energy, spleen contraction to increase blood volume for sufficient supply of oxygen and else. We can see that how the sympathetic prepares our bodies to face the stress condition. How can this happen? Of course that the body has managed to focus the effect on everything it needs to compensate the condition it faced. So, we can see the effect of focusing on our body. The stronger you focus on something the better the effects.

According to Daniel Goleman, a psychologist and science journalist, the internal condition and coordination plays every important role in creating good social skills. A person who can feels what others feel actually has achieved a high level of emotional stage which enables him to mingle in the society smoothly. Actually, what does Goleman want to tell us from his study? It is about emotional quotient (EQ) which can be represent by attitude. Nowadays, we can see that people are struggling to gain or to improve their intelligent quotient(IQ) but we have to remember that IQ only contributes only 6% to success and can reach to maximum of 20%. But, EQ on the other hand contributes 80% in achieving a successful life. The proof can be seen in front of our eyes. Sometimes, we see some people who are average or may be managed to reach only to standard six are more accepted by the society or tend to mingle easily when compare to the genius. Why? This is because our social skills are actually the mirror or may be the benchmark used by the others to know what is inside us. This is proved by the Holy Koran when the prophet Syu`aib`s daughter asked him to hire Moses as their worker due to Moses` attitude and personality;

`Said one of the (damsels): "O my (dear) father! engage him on wages: truly the best of men for thee to employ is the (man) who is strong and trusty"....`
(28:26)

But still here we cannot deny also the important of the knowledge because the knowledge helps us to understand or to analyze the situation for us to understand the others. By gaining or improving our attitude, then only we can change ourselves. We can read, motivational articles, we can listen to motivational talks, we can watch programs and else, but those things will not influence us if we ourselves deny the fact that we can change if we want. This the internal desire while the others are the external influences. We are the one who can only bring the tiger out of ourselves or we just can cage it forever in ourselves. But you have to remember that when you cage the beast, the beast will get angry and this will lead to lots of personalities and attitude problems.

“No system (however great it is) can transform one`s personality if one is lukewarm in one`s attitude”
(Professor of CUCMS )

Lastly, it is important for us to appreciate the value inside us and bring it to the battlefield for an optimum test. The volunteerism, positive attitude and thinking, stable emotion and else are all needed for us to bring out the thing hidden inside us to lead the ummah to the highest level.

`It has been man`s nature to forget the value of something till they lose it`
(Phrase)

But indeed, in order to achieve all of these, we need to walk the path of suffering but it does not matter where we begin but the end is the most important. We have Holy Koran and As-sunnah to guide us to the correct path so that we will not misguide in our quest to bring the tiger out of us. We have the role model who lived 1400 years ago, the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and yet his taught and idea live till today because he had managed to show the people around him how capable he was in everything he did. How he managed to that? Based on the Holy Koran;

`And thou (standest) on an exalted standard of character. `
(68:4)

No matter what we do or what we say, we have to remember that everything we do will influence the others and also the environment. Remember that if we channel the positive waves, then the coming back waves will be positive. It does not need for high level knowledge to know either we have awaken the value inside us or not, just look at the mirror and ask, “What have I been today?” and of course you have to answer it by yourself. The more question you ask, the more reflection of yourself will you get and at the end you can value yourself, where are your level now? The environment around you will provide everything you need but you have to adapt by yourself to the environment so that you can be who you are. But in the end, we have to remember that the ummah fate is in our hands and one day we will be asked “What have you do during your life on the Earth?” The question is, are we prepared yet to face the question if the tiger inside us is not use to its maximum level during our lives on the Earth!

Mohamad Suaidi Bin Mohamad Sazali