[Story] The Reality of Intention No One Mentions - As-Salaam Alaikum

As-Salaam Alaikum. Recently I saw some clips of well-known people talking about intention. They said if someone has strong niyyah and works hard every day, success is sure to come. I felt motivated and believed it too. But something happened that changed how I thought. A few months ago I started giving home tuition. For the first few days I noticed my students were distracted and not serious. I spoke to them calmly but they shrugged it off and nothing changed. Normally I try to resolve things directly with students without going to parents, but this time I didn’t know what else to do, so I spoke to their father, who is usually strict. He told me I was too soft and that I needed to be firmer. I took it as my responsibility. I decided to be strict. Slowly that strictness became scolding, and some days I even raised my voice. I kept telling myself my niyyah was right - I wanted what was best for them, so being harsh was justified. Instead of improving anything, things went downhill. The warm teacher-student bond turned sour. I could see frustration and resentment on their faces. They started answering back rudely and their behaviour worsened. Conflicts increased. I was confused. I truly thought my intention was for their good. Why wasn’t it working? I started getting annoyed and thinking maybe kids today lack respect. Later I spoke to a friend who’s also a teacher and more experienced. He listened, then reminded me of something important: intention matters, but intention coming from a narrow identity can be harmful. He said intentions guide you, but if your perspective is limited to just one role - like only seeing yourself as the strict teacher - you can do damage even with good niyyah. That hit me. I realised I had been thinking only as a teacher, not trying to see things from the students’ side or consider what they might be dealing with. I imagined how I’d feel if a teacher suddenly shouted at me, and I saw I’d react the same way. So I changed. I became calmer, tried different approaches instead of forcing control, and focused more on understanding than just correcting. This taught me a simple lesson: niyyah must be paired with an all-inclusive outlook. Only when intention comes from understanding, empathy, and seeing the situation from all sides does it truly benefit others and lead to good results, insha'Allah. Hope this helps. JazakAllahu khairan for reading. TL;DR I thought strong niyyah alone would bring change. Being strict with good intention only damaged the relationship. I learned that intention without an inclusive perspective can harm - true intention works when it’s rooted in empathy and understanding.