Tests do not only come in written or oral form during school. They may come at different days and times, in ways that are completely unexpected. Every day is a test, whether from God or from people. Will you pass the test? In a critical situation, will your words and actions align with your professed values and beliefs?
Life can be hard, we all know this. As my brother in law pointed out recently “life is pain.” When the car ahead cuts you off, will you angrily honk and display an upraised middle finger? Or will you keep your “monkey brain” under control and instead focus on driving safely? Will you pass that test?
When your boss orders you do something dishonest, will you meekly obey, or will you resign rather than follow that order? Will you pass the test?
When you feel truly called to drop out of school to join the military and go fight because terrorists just attacked your country, will you follow through on that belief with full commitment? Or will you meekly remain in a somewhat comfortable school situation and let things slide? Will you pass the test?
Will you consistently seek to be honest and fair with your customer, even when no one would find out if you did otherwise? Will you pass the test?
On p. 52 of the book The Unit by Adam Gamal, he writes “Sometimes it feels as if the entire world is going against you, but you just need to suck it up and keep moving.” I’ve experienced the same feeling. It can happen to any of us. Stress and pressure like this is just one more test in the classroom of real life. Will you pass the test?
If God, Allah, or whatever deity you worship is the ultimate teacher, the ultimate sensei – then the whole world is your dojo/training hall and every moment of every day is either training or a test. Use every opportunity, every incident, as a chance to learn, and to prove that you can pass the tests that life will throw at you.
When should you test yourself? Every day. When should you learn something new? Every day. Learning and tests don’t stop when school ends. Every new day is a test, and also a chance to learn something new to improve yourself. If there was a critical incident that you feel you could have handled better, what can you learn, and how can you do better next time something similar happens?
When life throws hard experience at you, step back and consider it as a test and maybe a learning opportunity. What can you learn? How can you apply that lesson to do better and be better next time? Will you pass the test?