Lean into it. You heard me.

Lmaoo I think sey I be Mayweather.

Hi guys,

Hope you are well. I’m doing okay, Alhamdulillah.

I write this at 2:50 am on a relatively warm Sunday morning, exactly when I want to be writing. Being awake at this time takes me back to the first two years of undergrad, especially when I pulled all-nighters back-to-back.

I like to think that I was an A+ version of myself back then. I was more hardworking, more (emotionally) available, more dedicated to maintaining my personal and professional relationships, more willing to sacrifice, and perhaps even more resilient.

I think I probably felt I ‘had to’ be all those things to get the things I wanted. Looking back, I’m not 100% sure I did. The difference between me of today and me of those days is I now do a lot more things by choice. I might have felt ‘forced to’ do overnight because of a last-minute assignment due the next day, or even just the general structure of Engineering classes, but now the sacrifices I make in many aspects of my life are optional.

I make myself do some of them today because of how valuable they are for the AbdulHameed of tomorrow. And some other times, well, I just fashi. Lmao everybody go dey alright.

Las las.

—————

About 6 months ago, I started a new job.

It was my first job in this particular industry, and I was 1. excited to learn as much as possible, and 2. hoping to be great at it. After spending about a week or two onboarding in a group of about 10 other new-joiners, I was itching to get to work.

Abeg just put work for my front make I give am uppercut. Lmaoo I think sey I be Mayweather. And many of the other new joiners felt the same, we had worked hard to get here and now we just wanted to have at it. Vamosssss, let's go!

Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao - Image from Isaac Brekken

When some of us were sharing our frustrations with a more experienced colleague, she gave one of the most instructional pieces of advice I have ever received.

"Lean into it."

"What?"

"Lean into it. If you really want to work but there isn’t so much to do, just lean into it. Enjoy the downtime and take things easy, trust me you’ll appreciate this in a few weeks.”

"Yeah I get that, but we've not really been doing anything for over a week. We've done all the training courses already and don't know what else to do.”

“Okay. If you really want to contribute pending the time you're fully staffed¹, reach out to some PAMs² to see if you can support some business development work. Otherwise, just rest."

"Thank you so much."

My friend did just that. He sent out a few emails to people and eventually got the opportunity to support the development of a business proposal. As for me, I took her initial advice. I decided to 'lean into it' by resting, researching, attending (fun) work events, and meeting people.

Probably less than two weeks later, we were both fully staffed and didn't have much time to breathe, let alone have blown-out conversations about our lack of engagement. For me, not taking additional engagement previously turned out to be a masterstroke, because it meant I was better rested and able to devote 100% of my attention to delivering on my actual assigned work.

As for my friend, well, he was juggling many balls as he needed to combine all the new work in front of him with fulfilling his prior commitment to the business development project. Knowing how talented and dedicated he is, he probably gave an A+ performance in all of them. I cannot confidently say that I would have done the same.

The advice to 'lean into it’ transcends more than just this particular use case. For whatever life situation you are currently facing, leaning into it will make things better for you in the long term.

Earned more money than you planned to?

Do something you haven't done. Go on a trip, eat somewhere nice, buy something you've always wanted. Or better yet, give some away.

Entered a surprising Iman boost phase?

Increase your ibaadah. Read Tafsir. Fast Mondays and Thursdays. Just do more.

In a high-energy and super productive headspace?

Work fast, work hard. Keep crushing everything that comes your way. Don't stop until people say, "My God, who is this guy?"

In a low-energy or meh headspace?

Lie in bed as much as you can. Figure out what the barest minimum is, and do just that. Don't let anybody motivate you to do extra. And don't feel guilty.

Whatever phase you're currently in is going to pass. Good, bad or so-so, it's going to pass anyway. So it is in your interest to maximize it.

As you begin a new week, I hope you take out some time to think about where your head is currently at and identify what activities might be worth dedicating time to for your own benefit in the long term.

And if you decide to do nothing but rest, then great. Resting is a worthy activity too.

** Jara content:

عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ اغْتَنِمْ خَمْسًا قَبْلَ خَمْسٍ شَبَابَكَ قَبْلَ هَرَمِكَ وَصِحَّتَكَ قَبْلَ سَقَمِكَ وَغِنَاكَ قَبْلَ فَقْرِكَ وَفَرَاغَكَ قَبْلَ شُغُلِكَ وَحَيَاتَكَ قَبْلَ مَوْتِكَ

Ibn Abbas reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Take advantage of five before five: your youth before your old age, your health before your illness, your riches before your poverty, your free time before your work, and your life before your death.”

Shu’ab al-Imān 9767, Sahih

Have a great week. ✨

1. Fully staffed = All of your time is allocated to working on client projects

2. PAMs = Partners & Managers