002: The Slump: What To Do When Performance is Down and Motivations are Low

Have you ever gone through those phases when, after flying high on steady performance, somehow, you just lost it?

Performance goes down. Morale and Motivation takes a tumble. We enter this spiral of sluggishness. And because we are demotivated, it's even more difficult to find our footing and get back on track!

It happens all the time in our lives... In our careers, our parenting experience. And definitely in our spiritual journey as Muslims: such as those moments when Ramadhan is over, or when we return from umrah. Things just go downhill 😫.

This is the Slump. In episode #2 of the Barakah Effect podcast, we collectively search for practical solutions to tackle this very real issue that happens even to the best of us.

Because the great news is - surprise! - Even the most righteous of people, the companions of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, also went through periods of the slump! What did they do? How did they recover?

How can we take ourselves out from this slump and get back on our feet?

Love to hear from you as well! Did we miss anything out?
Share with us your thoughts and insights, and your own awesome lifehacks on how you handle and cope with these challenges!

1. 00:00:00 - Intro
2. 00:05:50 - Ibadah, work and life burnout experiences
3. 00:11:10 - What is the slump?
4. 00:14:25 - The slump according to the saying of the Prophet ﷺ
5. 00:18:00 - Ensuring the BASICS are not compromised during your slump
6. 00:19:00 - What matters: Your REACTION to the Slump!
7. 00:20:48 - The key to consistency: Intrinsic motivation
8. 00:22:10 - Defining the "Slump" & its Arabic cousin, "Futur"
9. 00:25:10 - Hanzhalah: The sahabah who experienced the Slump
10. 00:29:30 - Practical Lessons from the Hanzhalah's slump
11. 00:33:50 - Self-Awareness: Understanding your vulnerabilities & Acting accordingly
12. 00:35:30 - The "halal" trap: Excess in mubah are doorways to the Slump
13. 00:37:25 - Understanding the Dopamine effect: It's a trap!
14. 00:40:29 - Beware the Mobile Phone: Weapon of Mass Distraction!
15. 00:42:33 - Excessiveness leads to burnout
16. 00:46:38 - Life happens
17. 00:50:30 - Ask Allah to renew your Iman
18. 00:52:16 - Shaytan is determined to break you
19. 00:56:40 - The effect of Sins
20. 00:59:28 - Emotional awareness and personal health
21. 01:00:22 - Neglecting personal health
22. 01:02:28 - Our bodies, Amanah from Allah
23. 01:02:50 - "How to Overcome the Slump"
24. 01:05:44 - Du'a to protect oneself from laziness and inability
25. 01:07:41 - Proper planning
26. 01:10:01 - Look for substitutes for your routine
27. 01:11:33 - Importance of self-awareness
28. 01:15:18 - The Hadith "consult your heart"
29. 01:16:52 - Find an accountability partner
30. 01:19:01 - Continuous deeds even if they are small
31. 01:20:00 - How our role model overcome the slump
32. 01:20:40 - Closing remarks
33. 01:20:52 - Discipline vs Motivation
34. 01:23:37 - Three reminders from the Hadith that a strong believer is more beloved to Allah than a weak believer.  
35. 01:26:22 - Slump opens up opportunities for good deeds
36. 01:27:49 - React soonest once you observe red flags for slumps
37. 01:32:008 - Self-introspection
38. 01:36:43 - Outro