How your spirituality can boost your work performance

When Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) first received the revelation and was told to deliver the message of God to humanity, he knew it was a daunting task. He couldn’t fathom how, as an illiterate orphan from Makkah, he could rise to the mission at hand.

In those early moments of doubt, God asked Prophet Muhammad to establish a special ritual at night, known as the Tahajjud prayer, and to make this ritual his aid and solace for the challenging years ahead.

“O you who wraps himself [in clothing], Arise [to pray] the night ... Indeed, We will cast upon you a heavy word.” [73: 1,2,5]

When you face a challenge at work or at home and you realise that it’s beyond your personal capacity, what do you usually do to boost your performance?

• Perhaps you’ll focus on building your physical capacity by exercising more and eating healthier food; after all, top performers and CEOs seem to always be conscious of their physical well-being.
• Perhaps you’ll focus on building your mental capacity by drinking coffee, planning your days better or using a new tool or software to help you manage the added responsibility.
• Or perhaps you’ll focus on building your emotional capacity and leveraging your social support to help you through the challenging times ahead.

What if, in addition to the above, you also focus on increasing your spiritual capacity, not as a last resort when you feel overwhelmed but as part of your daily rituals that help boost your performance?

I remember having to make a career-breaking presentation in front of top management at my previous company, and I was nerve-wracked. I decided that day to pay extra attention to my spirituality, and I chose to fast even though I knew fasting might drain my energy and affect my overall performance, but I was determined to see this link between spirituality and performance unfold in a real, challenging situation. The result? That presentation became the mark of my brand at the company, and since then I have been drafted into more strategic projects with top management.

If we believe that we’re spiritual beings who have human experiences, then we should realise that boosting our performance at work, at home and in our community is linked to increasing our spiritual capacity.

When we connect to God through prayers, fasting, recitation of the Quran, charity, and remembrance of God, it helps us to

• manage stress, as we start putting things in perspective.
• have aspirations for bigger goals, as we sincerely believe that although we’re limited, God is limitless.
• ensure that, in the middle of all the stress, we stay true to ethical values and not buckle under the pressure to say or do something that we will later regret.

Being able to see this connection between our spirituality and performance is part of what my friend Nabeel Al-Azami, founder of Murabbi Consulting, calls “spiritual intelligence”. Just like you recognise that you have a body to nourish, a brain to take care of and emotions to tend to, you also recognise that you have a spirit that wants meaning, purpose and connection to the Divine to flourish and help you grow.

When Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) first received the revelation, he didn’t know if he’d be capable of delivering this message. However, the constant spiritual connection he had with God, along with support from his family and companions, made his success inevitable and transformed the face of the Earth.

When did you last feel that connection between your spirituality and your performance? Share your stories, thoughts and ideas in the comments section below.

Mohammed Faris is an international coach, author and speaker who helps executives, professionals and entrepreneurs rebalance their lives spiritually, physically and socially to achieve peak performance and live meaningful lives. He’s the founder of ProductiveMuslim.com and author of The Productive Muslim: Where Faith Meets Productivity.

(Writing by Mohammed Faris; Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@thomsonreuters.com)

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