Reset to become Deliberate 💟

Assalamu alaikum,

How are you feeling on this lovely Sunday afternoon?

I know I am feeling rather peckish whilst typing this episode up.

I hope you enjoy this short read ;)

On Tuesday, I attended a sister’s circle at my local masjid and received a book authored by the lovely Sheikh Dr. Omar Suleiman.

I have been flicking through the pages of this book, Allah Loves, and came across a specific section that caught my attention.

It discusses الاناة (al-anaah), which means deliberation.

Being deliberate in your actions can be expressed in different ways, such as ensuring everything is done to an excellent quality (ihsaan) and performing tasks with the correct intention (niyyaah).

This can help ensure that the progress you make follows a steady momentum and eventually leads to positive results.

This concept ties in nicely with a video I watched yesterday about learning a new skill.

To get better at a skill, you must engage in something called Deliberate Practice.

This means continuously practicing something you aren’t good at until you master it.

Deliberate practice involves focusing on specific aspects that you find challenging and systematically improving them through repeated effort.

I don’t know if this happens to you, but as soon as something gets hard, I tend to avoid it and do literally everything else.

Here’s an example:

This week, I was baking cupcakes and icing them for the first time.

The cupcakes themselves were wonderful—so light and fluffy.

However, the problem was the icing.

I was shocked at how much butter is needed to make buttercream—200g of butter for icing 12 cupcakes seems like a lot, doesn’t it?

The icing was too strong and way too sweet, and it ended up giving me a headache.

Now, I find myself resisting the idea of getting back into the kitchen to bake cupcakes again.

But how else will I get better at icing cakes if I don’t practice?

So, I shall search for the perfect icing recipe and get back to it.

Today’s Top Tip:

1.Identify a specific skill, hobby, or task you have been avoiding because it seems too difficult.

2.Dive into resources—books or videos—to find the best method.

3. Set aside dedicated time each day to focus on improving this skill.

Let’s seek deliberation as a part of our personality, and may Allah (Glory be to Him) give us the opportunity to be steadfast for our dunya and our akhira.

Ameen.

Take care,

Amal

P.S. I mentioned last week that I would include my Ideal Week in this week’s episode.

I have gotten more done this week consistently compared to any other week.

Another reason why being deliberate in your actions can lead to positive results ;)