“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”
— Anne Lamott
"I like you better while you’re fasting."
It was a half-joke, half-backhanded comment from a colleague who was in a meeting with me a few years back. That day had been particularly challenging because I was running on empty—in a calorie deficit, waking up at 4 a.m. and staying up throughout the night. No, I wasn't on some fad diet, and I was absolutely not part of the 4 a.m. club so many C-suites claim to believe in (though I doubt that is real).
I was halfway through Ramadan when this colleague said this to me, and my body was tired.
"When you’re fasting, you have a more normal pace," they added.
At the time, I didn’t know how to respond. Was this supposed to be a compliment? Whether it was a compliment or criticism, the comment sat uncomfortably with me. As much as I wanted to get annoyed at the observation, there was truth in what they said.
A Month That Forces a Pause
What might surprise many non-Muslims is that most Muslims don’t just observe Ramadan—we long for it. And I am one of those people. Every year, I pray to reach Ramadan, and when it ends, I feel a quiet sadness, like saying goodbye to a dear friend.
Not because it’s easy or convenient—far from it. But because Ramadan is always the reset, I didn’t realize I was craving.
It’s like an old friend, the kind you don’t see often but whose presence feels like home. The kind of friend who sees right through you—past the busyness, past the excuses, past the distractions—and, with the utmost sincerity, gives you a firm but loving shake. The one who looks you in the eye asks, Are you living the way you were meant to?
And in that moment, you know they’re right. And you wake up.
Wake up from the spiritual fog
Wake up from the monotony
Wake up from the distractions
Wake up from the dopamine addictions
Wake up from overconsumption
Ramadan is —a spiritual defibrillator that jolts the heart and soul back to life, reminding it to beat in the right rhythm so that the body, mind, and spirit can breathe in harmony once again.
A Divine Speed Bump
Ramadan reminds us to slow down and recalibrate. It is an intentional disruption—a divine speed bump placed in our path once a year, commanding us to halt, rethink, reset, refocus, and recenter.
It forces us to pause. And that pause reveals what we’ve been too busy to see: Most of us live day in and day out in an inertia that is too comfortable to disrupt while simultaneously soul-crushing.
And that is the way that life is.
We need meta-wiring, shortcuts, rhythm, certainty, and routine—life without them would be unbearable. But when the routines we build are simultaneously self-destructive, we need something- a stick in the wheel, an intervention moment, a wake-up call to disrupt that inertia.
Ramadan is one of those intervention moments but by no means the only one. Islam is full of intentional pauses, restarts and opportunities to recalibrate.
As Muslims, we are called to prayer five times a day. The adhan, the call to prayer, isn’t just a reminder to pray—it’s a disruption—a built-in speed bump inviting us to stop whatever we’re doing, to recenter ourselves, to remember God, to remember why we’re here.
These acts of pause are a way of stepping away from work, distraction, and endless pursuit of more.
In a world that glorifies nonstop productivity, this rhythm of pause is radical. It’s an act of defiance against the idea that our output measures our worth.
And Ramadan? Ramadan is a grand recalibration, an opportunity to reevaluate every aspect of our lives—how we care for our bodies, our minds, our hearts, our communities, how we show gratitude, and how we care for others.
Nothing is untouched by the month of Ramadan.
Recalibrating More Than Just Faith
Ramadan doesn’t just ask us to abstain from food and drink. It asks us to fast from excess in all its harmful forms. It is a detox of every one of our senses- an opportunity to operate at a higher frequency.
We step back from overconsumption—of food, distractions, social media, and harmful inputs.
We try to break unhealthy habits, such as mindless scrolling and indulgences that control us more than we control them.
We attempt to reset—through spiritual remembrance, prayer, and giving charity.
And the real test?
It’s not just making it through the month. It’s what happens after.
Because Ramadan isn’t meant to be a one-time recalibration. It’s meant to be a model that we apply beyond these thirty days.
The Power of Building a Cycle of Pause
In a world that moves at an unsustainable pace, we all need structured pauses.
Daily: The moments where we step away, reset, and remind ourselves what really matters.
Monthly or Quarterly: The intentional reflection points—whether that’s a digital detox, a weekend of solitude, or a reassessment of goals.
Yearly: The bigger recalibrations, the times we slow down long enough to ask: Am I living in alignment with what I truly value?
These pauses are more than just moments of rest—they are lifelines. They slow us down just enough to prevent us from careening off course. They force us to look up, look around, and ensure we’re still headed in the right direction.
Because here’s the truth: if we don’t build in these pauses, life will impose them on us.
Through burnout, crisis, and exhaustion so deep that it pulls us under, forcing us to stop, whether we want to or not.
So find a friend like Ramadan who loves you enough to shake you awake. The kind that will pull you out of the autopilot of overwork, overconsumption, and overcommitment. The kind that will remind you that life is not meant to be lived in a blur.
Use that pause—not just to catch your breath but to realign your steps, to recenter not just your body but your mind, your priorities, and your connection to something greater than yourself.
And whether or not you fast, whether or not you observe Ramadan, the question remains:
Where in your life have you built an intentional pause?
Because we weren’t meant to run endlessly.
We were meant to move with rhythm, with moments of stillness that allow us to return to what truly matters again and again.
Until next time take care of yourself and those around you.
In partnership,
Nabeela
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