The Power of Delayed Gratification: Why Patience Unlocks Barakah

bamum hello everyone and welcome to the 10th episode of the Barakah Blueprint the podcast where we align Faith with Focus to achieve truly lasting success I am your host Ibrahim and today we will be talking about the power of delayed gratification if I told you that the key to success in life relationships career and even in spirituality begins with one simple skill would you believe me that skill is called delayed gratification the ability and skill to delay short-term pleasure for long-term success and the Islamic framework is the ultimate training ground for delayed gratification everything from fasting in Ramadan to waiting for your Dua to be answered all of that has to do with the late gratification and everything about our Dean teaches us that great things take time so today we'll be diving into why delayed gratification is the secret for maximized Baraka and how Islam is the best training ground for this in Baraka style Ramadan teaches you the secret to success which is the ability to wait the best training ground for self-control is fasting for example when the prophet sallallahu Al Ali wasam used to advise his companions on enduring certain hardships or certain trials even outside the month of Ramadan he gave the recommendation of fasting because think of it this way what do we do in the month of Ramadan what do we do when we're fasting well we're saying no to food drink and even pleasure even if it's right in front of us which is also why during the time of breaking the fast the food and drink suddenly becomes that much sweeter because of you you spending the time to wait for that particular reward you delayed that reward which is exactly why we say Ramadan teaches you that secret skill which is the ability to wait so this was the first point the second point is Salah what about Salah connects to delayed gratification well you have five obligatory stops and checkpoints during your day meaning these are five stops that you have to attend to even when it is inconvenient for you and even within the Salah within the prayer itself you have specific stations or specific movements where you spend time waiting be it if you are praying alone or if you're praying in congregation for example you are to take your time and spend your time for example in suud waiting and reflecting instead of rushing the prayer and therefore your ability to pause and pray trains your ability of delaying your gratification third and I think this one is not as often talked about and connected to delayed gratification but indeed it is Dua because how often do we make Dua and ask Allah subhana t for something and expecting it to happen immediately and as we know from the had of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam Allah subhana wa tala answers Dua in three different ways firstly or the first point is he answers the Dua now or rather immediately two the Dua is answered later but when the timing is right or three you are given something better than you asked for be it immediately in this life or in the afterlife and that waiting process is something that not only strengthens your faith but strengthens your ability of delayed gratification now I'm sure you've seen this many times because even content creators are beginning to apply this in their videos the the famous marshmallow test so a study showed that if kids could wait like roughly what is it 15 minutes for before they can eat their marshmallow that they would grow up to be more successful than those who immediately ate the marshmallow now the reason for this has very little to do with the actual marshmallow as as delicious as moreor sound uh it has very much to do with delaying your reward when the timing is right and why did these kids grow up to be more successful or why is it predicted that these kids will grow up to be more successful because they learn throughout this waiting period they learn self discipline they learn control and they learn patience so the reason why people are struggling with patience today and delayed gratification is purely because of the emergence of social media because social media emphasizes instant gratification for example the dopamine rush for likes or viewed content um the dopamine rush you get from engagement or even when you're Doom scrolling for eternity and Eternity and the more rewarding things in life and also usually harder things they require more patience they require more time for example learning a skill mastering a skill building relationships or even earning money so the the modern culture that we're seeing in front of us is that if it's not fast it's not worth it and the Islamic culture is that the best things come to those who are patient and that is why the ability to wait is the difference between failure and success we are taught that everything is decreed by almighty God fi blessings income status everything is already decreed by God that is very correct but it is a misunderstanding that R is just given RIS is not just given it is grown through patience for example the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said in in a narration that is recorded in the collection of bukari whoever is patient Allah will grant him patience and no one is given a greater gift than patience and every success story in the Quran and every major success story in the Quran is built on patience for example take a look at the story of the Prophet Joseph yfam his story if anything is all built on patience everything from him being thrown into trials and tribulations uh thrown into the wealth thrown into prison and spending years and years there before he saw his moment of greatness or the story of M one of the most foretold stories in the Quran uh leading the children of Israel benu is through hardships and difficulties before attaining Victory and also the story of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam Islam was a it wasn't an instant process it was a process of 23 years and and quick gain quick wins often lead to Quick losses but true Baraka is built with patience and true Baraka is built slowly so people usually rush for money success power other other forms of uh success but true success is something that is built with patience and takes time so how do we apply this to our lives uh from a spiritual point of view let's say if you're someone who wants to memorize the Quran it's definitely not going to take you a week it's not going to be something that is quick it is something that you need to commit to for a very long time for some it's going to take much longer time it's going to take years and years but if you commit to a consistent effort for a longer Journey not only are you ensuring that you will achieve that goal you are telling yourself and ensuring for yourself and everyone around you that you can achieve other things and even greater things so whether you want to improve on your on your spiritual Affairs your Dean or your worldly Affairs be it building a business or building a a money Empire whatever it could be the slow but consistent path always is going to be the one that wins and it's not just about that it's about understanding that this is what it takes and being and accepting that this is the situation and that is why we say risk isn't just given it actually comes with patience so don't chase WIS Chase lifelong success so how do we train ourselves for that I'm going to be giving three very simple tips that if we internalize them and work on them we can achieve far greater things that than what we have achieved so far number one to start small with Salah and fasting number two to actually set long-term goals number three to reward yourself for the patience so number one uh as we talked about in the previous episode about the Ramadan mindset the best training ground that you can have is your prayers and your fasting we said that Ramadan was the ultimate uh boot camp and the best personal development coach or sorry the best personal development course and the Salah is the best time management system having the best per personal development course along with the best time management system will ensure that you have taken or that you've already taken a big part of that Journey so the first tip that I'm going to give is focus on this focus on your prayers and focus on fasting and Implement a habit for those for example if you struggle with Focus train yourself to slow down on your Salah number two setting long-term goals first of all as we talked about in several episodes write down your goals write them down uh keep a written record of your goals and break them down into goals for months and years not goals for days so actually set a deadline for your goals as it will train you to uh chase the carrot for example if you want to learn the Arabic language or any language uh for that matter don't just write down the goal actually set a deadline for that goal let's say 3 years or four years or whatever is comfortable for you and having a written record of your goal will most definitely ensure that you will hold yourself accountable in a more effective way than if you were to just think of the goal and say well I am planning on achieving this because writing down your goal means that you have taken the extra step of being serious about this particular Pursuit number three rewarding yourself for for your patience delayed gratification doesn't mean no gratification of course so set up a reward system for yourself for the steps that you're taking towards your goal as this will reinforce good behavior that is why we don't chase quick wins we Chase lifelong success thank you for tuning in to the Barakah Blueprint podcast if you like what you have seen uh please give this video a rating a like and please subscribe to the this podcast and to this channel for future videos to come if you want success in your life success in your career success in your relationship success in everything train yourself to be patient and remember Allah subhana says Allah subhana gave us the Commandment to stay connected to two things our prayer and the patience and Allah subhana T is indeed with those that are patient make sure to leave the podcast a review so that I know what I am doing that is beneficial and good or what I can do to further improve the delivery of this crucial and important message and as always stay productive stay focused stay faithful and stay patient and in style asalam alikum