In this episode, Mifrah explores the interconnectedness of personal growth and how it affects the ummah. She addresses why we struggle to grow and also shares the story behind the ‘Growth Retreat’, the upcoming experiential learning experience taking place in Sri Lanka in February 2025.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
00:18 The Impact of Global Events on Personal Growth
00:42 The Role of the Ummah in Personal Development
02:05 Faith-Based Personal Development
03:00 Challenges in Personal Growth
03:28 The Importance of Environment and Social Circle
05:22 Turning Knowledge into Action
05:50 Introducing the Growth Retreat
05:53 Experiential Learning and Personal Growth
06:48 The Power of Play and Active Engagement
07:45 Who is this Retreat for?
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🏖️ This episode is sponsored by Sisters Explore, a company I founded to offer guided small-group travel for Muslim women to connect, explore, and enjoy faith-centered journeys. Learn more at http://www.sisters-explore.com
Disclaimer: Some links in this description are affiliate links.
Episode Transcript
Asalamu Alaikum, Muslim Life Hackers, and welcome
(00:02):
to the show.
I'm your host, Mifrah Mahroof,and today's episode, I'm going
to be sharing with you somethingvery close to my heart.
It's a project that's beenbrewing in the background, and
it's been inspired by a longingthat many of us are feeling at
the moment.
So right now, as you all know,the situation which is
(00:23):
happening, the ummah to ourbrothers and sisters in Gaza, I
know that Muslim Life Hackers isall about personal growth and
becoming the best version ofourselves.
And I don't really get into thepolitical issues, but the ummah
is one body.
So when something like this ishappening, it is going to affect
us.
It is going to affect ourpersonal growth.
We realize that our actions areconnected and it has an impact
(00:47):
to the entire ummah, then thatis real personal growth.
It's not just individual.
And I know that the wholemainstream, secular personal
development tells us, Hey, it'sall about you.
You're the best, blah, blah,blah.
But the thing is, it's notreally the case.
Our growth, how best we show upis going to affect the entire
ummah as well.
(01:08):
So right now with what ishappening, obviously there are
things directly that we can do,the boycott, the protesting and
everything that's within ourmeans.
That is one thing, but anotherthing that is also very
important to do is somethingthat's very long term.
So that is becoming the bestversion of ourselves.
Because the thing is, the ummahis one body.
(01:29):
And when you actually look at abody, that a body is made up of
different parts.
So you have your organs, it'smade up of different organs.
So the thing is, when we be thebest of ourselves, we can be
that healthy organ in the bodythat's actually supporting it's
healing, supporting its strengthrather than something that's
bringing it down.
So that is a choice that we canall make, whether we want to be
(01:53):
that person who wants to be thereason for the success of the
ummah or be the reason for itsdownfall and failure.
So for the downfall and failureof that body, really, there is
no middle way.
Based on that, my work here inMuslim Life Hackers has always
been how can I bring faith basedpersonal development content to
(02:14):
the Muslim audience.
Something that's in line withour values and it's not just
about this life, but it's alsoit keeps the hereafter in mind.
And this podcast has been thefruits of that intention.
However.
When I decided to relaunch thispodcast again, so for those who
are new to this channel and notaware, Muslim Life Hackers
started back in 2013 and itstarted then and then I was
(02:38):
running it for some years.
I paused it and then I came backagain last year actually.
The scene had really changed alot.
So, MashaAllah, there've been somany amazing coaches and
personal development content.
So it wasn't like 2013, right?
So the content is there.
If you want to know how to dosomething, you can easily find
it in YouTube, Podcast,Instagram, the info is there.
(03:00):
But what I found is that all ofthe information was there,
people weren't really changing,we were still struggling with
how we can be the best versionof myself.
And myself included, I mean, I'mnot putting myself on a higher
pedestal, I have been throughthe struggles, and I also
continue to have my challenges.
So when I noticed that I startedthinking, okay, well, what is
(03:21):
it?
We have the information, butwhat I found was missing was the
environment.
So our environment remained thesame.
So even though we're consumingthis information on social media
and everywhere, we still stayedin the same environment.
We still had the same grind, wehad our routine and work, home,
(03:42):
work, home, house chores, neverending, right?
And that environment just keptus comfortable.
It just kept us with this wholesafety that hey, I don't really
need to change because I'mcomfortable.
Like I know what to do, right?
I know what I need to do, buthey, like things are
comfortable.
To change you have to beuncomfortable, right?
(04:02):
Because like it's something thatis different.
It's different to the routineand routine makes us feel safe.
So that was one reason I sawthat stopped us, that was an
obstacle to growing, right?
And the other obstacle I alsonoticed was having that social
circle.
So what happens is that we mightfind ourselves in community
(04:24):
groups or friend groups or justwho were around and they kind of
just happy with the way thingsare, you know, let me work, let
me have the kids, have the houseand that whole thing and not
really interested in growing ordoing more for the sake of
Allah.
And so that kind of rubs off onyou and there is a difference
when you are around otherbrothers and sisters who are
(04:45):
growing for the sake of Allah.
And the type of conversationsyou have is different.
It's not about, Hey, things areso expensive these days.
And I used to buy this nappiesfor like$10 and now it's$20 or
something.
Like it's not theseconversations when you're around
other growth minded people, theconversations are more like,
Hey, you know, I've noticed thishas been happening and what can
(05:07):
we do about it?
And how can we maneuver change?
And so our environment reallyplays an important role in how
good we can be, becauseremember, right, that whole
quote about, you are the sum ofthe five people that you
surround yourself with.
So there is that.
And the third obstacle I noticedwas that, we weren't turning the
knowledge that we know, so allthat information we were
(05:29):
reading, consuming the books,the podcasts and everything, it
wasn't turning into action inour life.
And so when you put these threethings together, so the first
one being the environment, thecommunity, and also the lack of
action, then we found ourselvesstuck.
And although we know what weneed to do, we're just not doing
it right.
(05:50):
So that is why I decided tocreate the Growth Retreat.
So the Growth Retreat is a sixday experiential learning
experience happening in personin Sri Lanka for six sisters.
So what I wanted to bring inthis retreat is really to target
those three things, give you anew environment.
So somewhere you can just likestep into, disconnect from your
(06:11):
current environment and connectwith something new so that you
can be able to get moreperspective on your life.
The other thing that I alsowanted to offer through this
retreat is friendships and othergrowth minded sisters, so that
you can be able to experiencehow it feels like to be in a
circle of other people who alsowant to be their best version of
(06:33):
themselves.
So in this retreat, We're goingto be acting on the knowledge
that we have.
So those habits that we know weshould have in our life, the
foundational habits, forexample, morning, evening
Adhkar.
These things we are going toimplement it.
And the way I decided to do thisretreat is really blend in my
strengths that I have ofcreating travel experiences,
(06:55):
something that I absolutely loveand combining that with personal
growth I want to do this allwith the whole intention of
doing it for the sake of Allah,and having fun as well, because
there is so much to learn whenwe are engaged in play.
For example, when you seechildren, they learn from play,
they learn from experiencingthings.
(07:16):
And that's what I want to bringthrough this retreat.
So it's not going to be sittingdown in a meeting hall in a
hotel.
No, we are going to be gettingout of that.
I am anti just sitting downwhole day kind of thing, because
the thing is, if I want to sitdown, I can actually do that
locally here and go to a classor something, right?
And so what we're going to bedoing is we're going to be
(07:36):
getting out, we're going to beexperiencing different things
and all with that mindset on howI can grow, how can I be the
best version of myself, right?
So who is this retreat for?
So this retreat is for you ifyou are ready to unplug.
So the digital work can be veryoverwhelming and really blur
things in our life, like what isour priority?
(07:57):
Where am I going in life?
And I want you to be able tohave the opportunity to
disconnect from that and thenconnect to the creations of
Allah SWT and be in the presentmoment.
Because when you are, you willget better perspective and
benefit from that.
So this retreat is also for youif you thrive with hands on
(08:20):
experiences.
So if you want to step back fromthose zoom calls and you just
want to experience life and seewhat it can teach you about your
life, then The growth retreatwill be the place that will
facilitate that.
This retreat is also for if youfeel stuck in your life right
now, you could be someone whohas been really into personal
(08:40):
growth.
You've hit those goals, you'vebeen successful, and now you're
stuck.
It's like everything's happened.
Like, what's next?
What can I do?
How can I be better for the sakeof Allah?
This, in the growth retreat, Youcan be able to get that space
and get that environment to helpyou uncover that next version of
yourself.
And finally, this growth retreatis for you if you crave real
(09:03):
life community.
So you want to be around otherwomen who understand you, who
are on the same journey and whouplift and encourage you.
So as I said earlier, thisretreat, I intentionally decided
to leave it to six sisters.
So the reason I kept it to asmall number is that there's
just something special whenthere is a small group of people
(09:24):
compared to when there's like, atravel group of say, like 50
people or something.
It's just feels veryoverwhelming, like a lecture
theater.
I want to keep this as a small,intimate circle where you will
come to the growth retreat.
You will uncover parts ofyourself that you didn't know
existed and you can leave homewith friends and memories for
(09:45):
life.
So this retreat is really anopportunity to invest in
yourself and move towardsbecoming the best version of
yourself.
Because no matter where we are,There is always a better version
of ourselves And if the more ofus could become strong believers
who are really using the giftsthat Allah SWT has given us,
(10:05):
then our ummah will benefit aswell.
So if you feel that you want tobe part of this opportunity, and
you feel like you have someobstacles in your path, then I
would encourage you to make thatintention and make du'a to Allah
SWT that he opens the waybecause anything is possible
when you ask through him, but itall starts off first when we
(10:26):
make that intention that we wantto go.
So if you don't want it, that'sfine, you don't have to, but if
you do want it, then I encourageyou to ask Allah SWT to open up
a way for you.
So what's going to happen afteryou book your spot is we're
going to be scheduling a calltogether and we're going to be
speaking about the logistics andall the next steps that needs to
(10:49):
be done.
So I'm going to make thispersonalized, make it special.
I'm not really a fan of the massmarket approach.
So for me, creating experiencesis something that makes my heart
sing.
So it's actually one of mystrengths and something that I
enjoy doing.
And I want to make this aspecial experience for you.
So, after we speak, InshaAllah,I will meet you there in Sri
(11:11):
Lanka.
And then you will be transferredto the hotels there, and we will
start our growth retreat.
So we will be going throughmultiple cities, and I have
amazing itinerary planned, andbeautiful places we're going to
be staying in, and I can't waitto host you there.
I've been Sri Lanka many times.
So I was born in Sri Lanka,actually.
So it's a place that holds aspecial place in my heart.
(11:34):
And I look forward to actuallywelcoming you there and
facilitating this growthexperience.
So I hope you can be one ofthose six sisters.
If you feel drawn to thisopportunity and you want to be a
part of it, then pray yourIshaqara prayer and take the
next step, whether that'sbooking your spot, or even
reaching out to me for a chat.
I'm here.
(11:55):
You can be able to reach methrough Instagram, or you can be
able to email me as well.
So let me know, and I reallyhope to meet you in Sri Lanka.
Take care, and I will speak toyou soon.
Asalamu Alaikum.
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