Hey guys!!! Ramadan Mubarak!!!! I thought to do things a little differently this year – instead of a Ramadan hiatus where I come back and give you 10-15 lessons that I learned through the Ramadan process, this year, I’ll give y’all a lesson for every day (29-30). Soooooooo buckle up and enjoy!

WELCOME TO THE DAILY RAMADAN SERIES!!!!!!!

So, today is day 1 of Ramadan, and I’ll admit it wasn’t a very smooth transition in the slightest because once again, I played myself. It would have been smart of me to have weaned myself off of coffee/caffeine the two week prior leading up to Ramadan actually starting. Instead, I upped my caffeine intake drastically without a single thought to the ramifications of trying to quit cold turkey. Long story short, now I’m a fasting caffeine addict working full-time during daylight hours suffering from caffeine withdrawal. Life is rough lol.

Fasting unprepared is a struggle and I strongly don’t recommend. While this isn’t my first rodeo – the degree of rough has reminded me of one of my biggest life lessons that I have yet to fully adhere to: STOP JUMPING HEAD FIRST INTO THINGS!

I don’t know about you, but I know I’ve always struggled with impulse control. While impulsive decisions can be a joy of life by providing unexpected fun, impulsive decision making can also be quite counterproductive when not handled correctly.

Ramadan is normally utilized as a time for self-reflection, habit checking, and spiritual rejuvenation. This year I’ve been reminded that while I’ve worked on many different habits over the past few years that have made a difference, I’ve also allowed one habit to run rampant because “it’s not that bad.” In the past, I’ve done a good job of implementing discipline into different parts of my life: keeping up with my fard (mandatory) prayers, reading Qur’an at least two-three times a week (in depth), going to the gym at least 3-4 times a week, drinking a gallon of water a day, etc. I thought about what matters and forced myself to get those things done until they became second nature.

Today I had to ask myself, why is it that I can carefully plan and implement discipline in so many others facets of my life, but the mere thought of not being Edward 40 Hands everyday with my cups of coffee is downright disrespectful and impossible? In all honestly, the only answer I could come up with was “because I just don’t want to.”

At this point, I hope that you understand that me speaking on a coffee addiction is not to be fully taken literally. The point I’m trying to get at and lesson I want you take away is that we all have full autonomy over our habits (good or bad). Granted, when it comes to impulse control problems, there’s usually some type of underlying issues so please go seek help if need be. But don’t be afraid to go forth and take charge of our own life and stability especially if you can identify that in doing so, you’re saving yourself from yourself.

Seek better. Be better. Do better.

As always,

Keep living, loving, and laughing.

Song of the Day: “God’s Not Done with You” by Tauren Wells

I listen to this song literally whenever I feel down. Try it out!