29 Jumada II 1444 A.H

As Salam alaykum dear . Peace upon you.

I hope my mail to you today meets you in a state of strong conviction and good health.

I started writing this letter to you as I made pancakes for myself and family, talk about multi-tasking *covers face* yet it is so imperative for me to ask that you give yourself permission to thrive. Why? because it’s the first point of call in the journey of blooming and living a purposeful and content life.

To give permission to something involves exercising your free will; it involves making a choice. In this context, it involves looking at your life, taking stock and truthfully asking yourself if you are in a state of being that allows you to grow vigorously.

It involves calling yourself out on your BS (excuse my French) once, twice, or severally as need be and choosing to be a better person. For me that happened when I had my son, when I had my daughter, when I got very sickly with a hyperthyroid in 2021 and now, almost every day. It involves truthfully reviewing how I am living my life and choosing to constantly wake myself up from a slumber that is so easy to drift into as human beings.

Calling yourself out and constantly waking yourself up will most likely instigate change in one way or another. Whether that change is consistent or inconsistent is another discussion but THRIVING commands intentionality. A thriving life is a gift to those who are intentional in their thoughts and actions, and this brings me to the first point I want to highlight when it comes to giving yourself permission to thrive:

1.   Intention:

after you have made a decision to thrive, then you want to make conscious and solid intentions to go after it. For Muslims, we know how powerful intentions are in the way we live our lives. Hadith 1 of An-Nawawi states:

It is narrated on the authority of Amir al-Mu'minin (Leader of the Believers), Abu Hafs 'Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), say:

"Actions are according to intentions, and everyone will get what was intended. Whoever migrates with an intention for Allah and His messenger, the migration will be for the sake of Allah and his Messenger. And whoever migrates for worldly gain or to marry a woman, then his migration will be for the sake of whatever he migrated for."

Related by Bukhari & Muslim

This tells us that we should always channel our intentions towards God’s pleasure. Therefore, it is important that you set the intention that you would like to experience unparalleled growth for the sake of Allah; because that is how in shaa Allah you are able to get rewarded in this life and the hereafter.

In another vein, this hadith alludes to the fact that intentions give rise to actions and how an action is carried out. It is your intention that drives you to move in a certain direction, which in this case is to thrive.

So, set your intentions and constantly renew them.

2.   Act:

Intention without action doesn’t hold much weight, at least in this life. Granted, Allah in his infinite mercies may decide to reward you for your good intention in the akhirah but you must recognise that it is in the dunya that you sow seeds that determine what you will reap in the hereafter. , Allah loves action takers and wants you to put your best foot forward on this earth. He has told us to tie our camel, then trust in him (as referenced in a Hadith of the prophet SAW).

Taking action when it comes to thriving looks like making Dua, seeking knowledge, practicing what you have learnt amongst many other things. The best part about taking action, is that it raises your self-respect and self-confidence. This in turn spurs you to do more bi itnillah. Give yourself permission to thrive by being an action taker.

Walk your talk

3.   Do the inner work:

I cannot emphasise this enough. Many of us are afraid to do what’s required to make the haziness in our lives clear. This is why we keep chasing numerous courses, seminars, events etc and shy away from doing the inner work of self-exploration.

I agree with you, it can be quite daunting and requires a lot of self confrontation but it must be done. It is in the facing and sitting with the discomfort of sifting through our past, checking the state of our hearts, minds, and limbs that we can get to a place of awareness, compassion, forgiveness, and clarity which is needed to thrive.

N.B: i still run away from this sometimes, sigh.

, allow yourself to do the uncomfortable but rewarding inner work

4.   Leave the past and future and live in the present:

I haven’t seen a greater kryptonite to thriving than staying stuck in the past or worrying too much about the future (whether you consider it to be a failure or success). You are a “LIVING BEING” not a ‘LIVED BEEN” 😉, hence you are made for the present. You are expected to live in the here and now yet encouraged to look back to pick up lessons, look forward to prioritise what matters and to tap into a sense of hope.

Don’t let the future and past rob you off a thriving life. Give yourself permission to thrive by living in the present

This is the junction at which I end my letter to you today.

• If you haven’t purchased the thrive webinar replay yet, today is the last day to PAY WHAT YOU WANT. At 11.59pm, it will be sold at a fixed price of N5000. Ban all spirit of procrastination and get all signed up now. You can get the videos and an accompanying workbook at your chosen price. How awesome!

• If for some reason, you are just hearing about the thrive webinar for the first time, click here then sign up!
• Lastly, Ibadah plug is holding their first ever seekers circle tonight and I would love for you to attend. Please see details in flyer.

They have made available 5 free tickets for my community, so if you are interested in the event and available to attend tonight, please fill this form. The log in details can be sent to you before the session. I will close the forms after the first 5 people register in shaa Allah.

Even if you do not get the tickets, I encourage you to register for it if you haven't already. You don’t want to miss it!

Till you read from me again,

I pray for Allah's continued blessings upon you and yours!

Sekinat

p.s the pancakes turned out amazing 😁

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