From One Arrow, I Learned About Life

At Ladang Alam Warisan, Seri Menanti, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

Sometimes life doesn’t change because of a big event.

It changes because of one sentence.

As a teenager, I once read a hadith encouraging Muslims to learn archery, horseback riding, and swimming. It was short. Simple. But that sentence pierced my heart like an arrow hitting its mark.

I didn’t become an archer overnight.
I was just a young boy carrying a quiet dream.

From swimming in the river at my village,
to camping with the Scouts,
to standing on the parade ground at dawn with PALAPES —
I didn’t realize then that all of it was shaping me.

Others saw activities.
I was being built.

While friends slept in on weekends, we were already in formation at 6 a.m.
While others went home for semester breaks, we were deep in the jungle for annual training.
Was it exhausting? Absolutely.
But that was where I learned something powerful:

Discipline is not about being forced.
It is about choosing to become better than yesterday.

There was a time I thought strength meant mastering weapons.
But life taught me something deeper —
it is not weapons that shape a man,
it is discipline, restraint, and character.

In 2013, I returned to that teenage dream — traditional archery.
Holding my first bow felt like reconnecting with a forgotten part of my soul.
One bow became many.
A hobby became a brotherhood.
A sport became a lifelong lesson.

My children may have felt “forced” to camp, to hike, to shoot arrows.
But one day, they will understand —
I was never trying to make them tough.
I was trying to give them direction.

Our Sabah 360 journey — nine days camping around the state with my three sons — wasn’t just travel.
It was about building resilience, bonding, and memories that no screen can replace.

Even today, I wake up at 4 a.m.
Not because I have to.
But because a trained soul does not negotiate with comfort.

One hadith led me to a thousand blessings —
discipline, friendships, family, heritage, strength, purpose.

We often wait for the “right time” to change.
But transformation begins the moment we act — even in small ways.

Pick one discipline.
Pick one value.
Pick one action today.

Because just like an arrow released with clear intention,
your life can travel further than you ever imagined.

Don’t wait to feel ready.
Start — and let the process shape you.

#archery