Everyone wants to know what I’m doing.

I keep getting these questions lately.

Are you working?
Did you leave medicine?
How do you make money?
Why are you always travelling?
What do you actually do?

The truth is…

I’m sorry, but I'm not telling 🤐

Negativity, hate and jealousy travel fast.
It’s better to keep all your plans to yourself.
​Vague answers, mystery & a quiet life.
​Move in silence, as they say.

Ironically, someone may have clicked on this to find out what I'm doing out of spite. Gotcha.

Anyways,
I think people overshare too much.
I fell into that trap once upon a time.
Not everyone wishes well, unfortunately.

Two words for today: حسد & عين (Evil eye and jealousy/envy → rough translation).
Both are very real.
If you share all the good things in your life, somebody somewhere will see, hear, and dislike it.
Not everyone truly wants to see you succeed.
​Hatred and envy can ruin the goodness in your life.
​That’s why you don’t see me posting my family, plans, vacations, etc.

There’s wisdom to privacy that goes deeper.

Dopamine = motivation.
Drive and energy towards your goals.
Talking about plans releases dopamine. It feels good to talk about your future (the one that doesn't exist yet).
It tricks your brain into feeling satisfied, without doing the hard work.

In short: less talking, more doing = stronger motivation, better results.

This wouldn't be an issue with your parents or close friends. But everyone else? No need.

It'll give you a sense of accomplishment that should come from working towards it. Seeing real progress. I believe sharing too much hinders your progress. The best approach is to work quietly and succeed in public. Keeping plans private preserves that dopamine drive, so the reward only comes from real progress and success.

In Surah Yusuf, Prophet Yusuf (AS) sees a dream of 11 stars, the sun, and the moon prostrating to him. His father, Prophet Yaqub (AS) said, "O my son, do not relate your vision to your brothers or they will contrive against you a plan. Indeed Satan, to man, is a manifest enemy." [Quran 12:4-6]​

And that’s why I keep my life quiet.

​

I was very intentional when I started this whole creator life. I often meet aspiring creators who ask for advice, and I always share the realities of this work. One important aspect is protecting your privacy. Creator or not, draw a fine line between the parts of life you're happy to share and the parts you won't. Stick to that agreement. If you get married, make the same decision with your spouse so you're on the same page. Social media has normalised sharing every detail with the world, but that is dangerous for so many reasons.

So here’s your lesson of the week...

Move in silence.
Keep yourself to yourself
Work hard behind the scenes.
And let your success speak for itself.
You have no obligation to answer anyone.
Don’t concern yourself with what others are doing. Focus on you.
​Be so focused on your own life that you don't have time to worry about others.

Medical School Update 🩺 ???

So there used to be a section of the newsletter called Medical School Update.

It was a quick unedited reflection of what's going on in life at the time, mostly for me to look back on later on.

I'm not sure what to do with it now, given the topic of this newsletter, I won't be sharing much about life updates, you're just going to see them as they happen إن شاء الله

For a second, I was thinking 'omg I need to think of something to write here' but what's the rush? I'm going to think about it before I commit to something. If anyone has a cool idea, let me know by hitting

So far, I think I could add 'Memorable Moment' - the most memorable thing from that week. I want to enjoy reading back through these over the years, maybe that would work?

Cool Stuff 👇🏽