Ep. 5: Forming a Sustainable Habit | Habits To Win Here and Hereafter

If there's one life hack to live by, it's this simple piece of advice from the Prophet ﷺ: build consistency, because that is beloved to Allah. After we get the ball rolling, a slow and steady pace builds our endurance for more sustainable habits in the long run.

Consistency is key

Much like the burst of energy we feel at the beginning of the new year when we're ready to implement our list of resolutions, the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ experienced the same intense ambition to pursue all good deeds. This was the unsurprising benefit of being able to listen to the motivating speech of the Prophet of God directly from him.

Yet, the Prophet ﷺ warned against the desire to go big or go home.

Once, the Prophet ﷺ came home to Aisha (rA) and found another woman with her. He naturally asked who this woman was and Aisha went ahead and introduced her saying, “This is so-and-so--she’s sort of the talk of the town. She doesn’t sleep because she’s up all night praying.”

The Prophet ﷺ actually responded in a totally different manner. He ﷺ advised that you only do what you can actually keep up with on a day to day basis. He then continued to say that the most beloved form of religiosity to Allah is what a person can be consistent
with.

In another narration, the Prophet ﷺ explicitly states Ahhabu al-amal ila Allah adwamuha wa-in qal, meaning "the most beloved of actions to Allah are those that are consistent even if they are small".

If there’s one life hack to live by, this is it.

Start small

As you think about what goals you want to incorporate into your life on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, start with small goals.

Say you want to make a habit of reading Quran. Rather than start off with reading an entire juz a day, or reading for 30 minutes, aim for one or two verses, or set a timer for 5
minutes. Whatever you can get through in five minutes will have met your goal for the day.

This goes for any habit in life. Whether it’s exercise, writing, or committing to personal development.

Planning for the long term

It may be hard to accept is that something as little as 5 or 10 minutes can even make a difference. So we think to ourselves, “Why bother?

For one, once you make an action a habit, it’s so much easier to progress in the habit itself. So going from 5 minutes of reading a day to 10 to 15 to 20, is much more manageable than going from 0 to 100 on day 1.

A slow and steady pace is not there to limit you, but to get you warmed up and build your endurance for the long run.

Second, when you find yourself tempted to underestimate how a little can go long way, remember the words of the Prophet to be consistently good.

At the end of the day, a small goal makes it easy to get done. Once you’ve been able to check it off your list, you trigger a sense of accomplishment internally, which motivates you to move on with more confidence to the next task at hand.

Download the Habits to Win Here and Hereafter Workbook as you follow along with this series!