I’m Considering Doing Ramadan, just started!
I’m Considering Doing Ramadan
For completely non-religious reasons, I’m considering participating in the fasting component of Ramadan.
Q: Are you Muslim? - No.
Q: If you’re not Muslim, why do such a crazy thing? - To understand myself more intimately, and spotlight the emotional escape routes I’ve unconsciously set up to avoid the hard conversations. - To super-charge my willpower - To spread awareness about how to maximize your willpower - To use my actions to empathize and understand 2/7th of the world. - To challenge myself - To put my money where my mouth is
Q: What is Ramadan? - It’s the world’s single biggest act of mass religious observance of its kind of human history. 1.6 billion members of the human race do this annually. - For Muslims, it’s a holy month of fasting, prayer and giving to charity. - For me, I’m only focused on fasting (and giving more as well).
Q: What was your first experience with Ramadan? - I have great admiration and respect for my few Muslim friends who have done amazing things during Ramadan in the past. One friend was a college football teammate of mine. That year, our two-a-days (which meant five hours a day sweating of full football equipment and helmet) fell right in the middle of Ramadan. Already, two-a-days are half-dreaded by players because of the intense physical and mental demands. Add Ramadan on top, and how could anyone survive! Without food and water throughout the day, wouldn’t he succumb to heat exhaustion or stroke? Somehow, he managed to not only make it through two-a-days, but he seemed to thrive. It was remarkable. And it also hints at false beliefs we have—not about religion—but about what we can achieve.
Q: Why fast when you can just eat? That’s stoopid! - In a culture of abundance, the willful ability to fast is almost sacrilegious. Yet, in the act of fasting, parts of us that we never knew existed come alive. We start to recognize our stomach’s hunger pangs shooting up to the brain, but instead of reacting to those pangs by eating, we choose not to. After a while, the pangs go away. Wow, interesting! But when hunger strikes, do we ever consciously choose to fast instead? How many of us can remember experiencing a time where we got past Hunger’s first checkpoint and managed to see what lies beyond?
Q: Still, why fast? - Fasting allows us to reconnect with us. To shed off routines that over time have created false, unspoken beliefs about our relationship with our physical body. Fasting reopens a portal to ourselves so we can deepen our understanding of our nature. Yes, food is sustenance, but it’s also a crutch, a way out from internal tension and stress. What happens when we can no longer support ourselves with the most satiating of crutches? We develop other strategies. We recognize our cravings don’t have to be accommodated: we can choose to say “Not now and I’ll be fine.” Just that realization can dramatically alter the course of one’s life.
Q: What’s the connection between fasting and willpower? - When it comes to figuring out what leads to success, happiness, and fulfillment (let’s say Excellence), researchers have tried to connect hundreds of concepts. Through countless studies, only two factors have been proven time and again to have a strong positive correlation to success: intelligence and willpower (what science calls “self-control.”) - While fasting may shrink the stomach, it expands and multiplies one’s self-control. And it’s not by the traditional idea of using brute force willpower. Sure, that plays a role, but the major self-control increase comes from another component: knowing thyself. We start to feel the difference between a hunger pang and something that feels like a hunger pang but is really an internal response to a stressful situation. Maybe instead of a cookie, a conversation is what we really need. Instead of a coffee, we really just wanted to get up, move around, and have some type of treat—realizing that preparing a cup of green tea fits the same bill. - Fasting increases our willpower through: better understanding oneself to the point of listening and feeling what one really needs, and not just what we impulsively grab to dull the real ache, the authentic need that isn’t being best addressed.
Q: How does fasting connect to energy levels? - In the exact opposite way that you might think. Yes, while the length of Ramadan itself will be a grueling endeavor, the magnitude of personal understanding and the gains in mental acuity allow you to treat energy dips swiftly, compassionately, and effective; making sure they don’t manifest into energy crashes.
Q: Do you actually think you’ll make it? - There’s only one way to find out, isn’t there?
Q: So you’re gonna do it? - I’m going to try, and I challenge you to try too. Don’t you want to know what’s holding you back? Don’t you want to do something truly challenging? Don’t you want to increase your empathy and understanding for over a quarter of the human race? Don’t you want the type of energy that doesn’t crash, but when it’s low, you know the remedy and can apply it with a surgeon’s precision?