Mental Pod

The #1 most common mental issue most men face is mostly Depression. With Depression, there is a lot that could somewhat trigger it's impact on a man's life - from feeling lonely most of the time and even thinking about suicide and that could be from the result of self-narration. With the exclusion of the modern-day stigma on men's mental health, this episode will be mostly a "fadfada" (thinking out loud") type of episode where there are no professional tips or advice. This is just me talking about it... Big up to every man out there fighting their own battles!

Power, a desired trait for some, yet misused by a majority of individuals. Once obtained, one must notice its' downside when being wrongly utilized. It's not just about physical and mental strength - there's more to it. Obeying a constructive individualistic code of practice will always be superior to "showing off" one's high-end lifestyle.

Those who mastered the virtue of patience are destined to win since the main idea of patience isn't about physical stillness i.e, waiting rather it's quite the opposite of that. With effeiency and endurance while still having that attentiveness towards what you seek, there you'll have understood the concept of patience. However those who are impatient, tend to think that everything is somehow in their control in which their emotions may lash out and cause somewhat of an emotional dillema. In the end, patience is really developed through your attitude.

Some would think that discipline is punishment or paying the price of an act of disobedience; that is the traditional description that discipline goes by. However, discipline contains a more simpler yet coherent interpretation to it. The development of one's discipline does not relate to inheritance whatsoever as YOU get to develop that within you through practical methods by the time. Once you've mastered and adapted to discipline, you will come to understand that discipline is misunderstood; discipline is freedom.

To define Honor, it is quite a robust virtue to define as a whole when it is usually underlined under basic values. One should be able to establish and follow a 'code of honor' that helps them keep intact with their own personal virtues and embody them. The big question is....'is honor a forgotten virtue?'

At first instance, one may think about justice in a legal, social, or political term. Individualistic character development is not as complicated as one may seem as it should be utilized as a moral compass. Batman is the best representation of the virtue of justice but not kindness as there are differences in adaptation and interactive measures. But for justice to be fulfilled, one must adapt and master the virtue of wisdom...

The one who lacks wisdom is like an individual who has a spoilt heart that is interconnected with a spoilt understanding. Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) said وَإِنَّ فِي الْجَسَدِ مُضْغَةً إِذَا صَلَحَتْ صَلَحَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ ، وَإِذَا فَسَدَتْ فَسَدَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ‏.‏ أَلاَ وَهِيَ الْقَلْبُ ‏"‏‏.‏". Wisdom is an essential virtue for character development as it associates with various virtues such as maturity and vision and if one lacks wisdom, he lacks value and what is also valuable. Nevertheless, attaining the virtue of wisdom is easy and self-explanatory.

Despite the risks and the fearsome feelings towards performing an act, there is still an intention to execute and carry out an act. That is courage. It is such a commendable virtue because you cannot manifest any other virtue without courage, as it makes other virtues possible as said by Aristotle. It is not just found in defensive interactions but also helps build onto one's character, primarily morally. You're probably courageous right now, "but how?" you may ask. Well you're living right now, aren't you?

By living with idea of prioritizing virtues, there is a certainty to live with a maximum capacity to think and act effectively towards events and circumstances. One of the main virtues to implement is control; controlling the intellectual internal system towards external events by thinking more constructively and emphasizing self-mastery over delusions. Get practical by 'taking stocks' (check yourself) as Seneca would say until you have accepted the fact that controlling the controllable is possible and trying to control the uncontrollable is unworkable.

If one allows his mind to think in a way that everything one imagines tends to have a negative outlook and is based on illusionary perceptions yet doesn't have any evidence to prove it is true so then starts implementing habits that seem to be "dopamine material" for this person when it actually isn't, then there is a demonstration of "corruptive thinking". In opposition, one who bases his thoughts on a realistic and logical iteration where these illusions are false and affixes himself on a path of a personal paradigm shift with the use of encouraging internal chatter, then this person has built his mind constructively and effectively.

At any random point, we may feel like we are out of our element so, we start acting weird oact asction of 'masking'. Masking is a tool for hiding various elements in our emotional weltoorder to fulfill external needs rather than internal and personal fulfillment by which there is a potential utilization of abusive manners such as deception and manipulation. Lewis Howes, one of the best authors, wrote about various masks men tend to display in his book "The Masks of Masculinity" in which its' intention is related to social conformity rather than individual conformity but throughout the book, he starts emphasizing the two sides of our lives; an ideal self and a real self of which should be perfectly balanced together to ensure harmony rather than anxiety. In this episode, Fady describes how living with a mask is an evasion of authenticity and truthfulness whilst answering why people 'mask' and how can one get rid of masking with the consideration of Lewis Howes's perception on masking and Fady's thoughts on the various masks displayed in the modern world.

Mental health is as real as any form of health you would think of. Regarding men, mental health isn't a topic that is much talked about in this day and age. The reason being is that it displays a show of weakness towards men nowadays as men are obliged to hide and never express these forms of vulnerability. Some men are often experiencing mental health disorders due to a lacking mindset; lack in discipline and patience. So then, men will start to have negative affirmations that will make them feel suicidal and gain control over their sane. They will sometimes feel worthless, destined to fail, or lose faith. Sadly enough, western society has interpreted a perception of masculinity that does not fit well in a society based on Islamic gestures and behavior where men are supposed to be cold and emotionally suppressive when our religion tells us differently. By implementing a collection of realistic and logical principles into our daily lives, we can certainly develop a more realistic and authentic perception of healthy masculinity. In this episode, Fady spreads awareness about men's mental health and its importance by emphasizing why men feel suicidal most of the time and going through various realistic principles that help build up a better mindful interpretation of masculinity and with the addition of going through the concept of emotional incarceration of men.

Happiness is the number one element we want to apply to our lives. How many times have we said to ourselves the phrase "I just want to be happy"? The thing about happiness is that it doesn't add any meaning to what you TRULY need in life for the purposes of an effective mindset shift. So instead of chasing or following the pursuit of happiness method, why not aim for something more robust and meaningful than just saying "I want to be happy" or "I want to feel happiness"? Think of other factors you could bring to the table that will effectively add purpose to your life and help transform your mind in a more educational and beneficial way. In this episode, Fady talks about the concept of happiness within its' definition while explaining why people pursue/ chase happiness when they could chase other concepts of life that could provide a much better significance and evidently provide the "happiness" you wanted from the first place. Adding on, Fady emphasizes why the idea of saying "I want to be happy" or the pursuit of happiness does not provide meaningfulness to our mental health.

Kanye West once wrote a song called "Real Friends" in which he asks if whether his friends will be there with him till the end. throughout his hectic schedule, he was unable to meet up with his friends as he is known to be a family man and a producer/artist and even though he doesn't have a problem with them, they seem to have a problem with Kanye himself. Kanye just wants them to see them striving for success and growth as much as he does for himself. Unfortunately, that is the concept of friends nowadays; they may unconsciously have something against you because you strive for success and peace while they strive to be 'cool' by being comfortable in their own zone, immature, and unmindful towards anything in general. Real friends will primarily represent the opposite, they'll rather be the mentors and supporters to your journey rather than apply roadblocks to your journey. In this episode, Fady underlines the true criteria when it comes to real friends and explains the "hallmarks of friends" made by Dr. Jordan B. Peterson with the emphasis on how can one deal with friends who do the opposite of what real friends do, which is hindering your energy and strive to success and self-development.

The concept of Self-Sabotage is a rare term we don't usually recognize in our daily lives. We don't often know whether we are behaving sabotaging way toward our goals or on our journey to enhancing our mindset. An individual behaviour may be negatively impacted whenever you're long-term goals are interfered with by negative habits and triggers that relate to self-sabotage such as; procrastination, perfectionism, and gaslighting yourself. As humans, we are known to be 'animals with minds' (حيوان عاقل) however, our minds can be easily vulnerable to any sort of conflict e.g. negative self-talk and constant self-criticism. In this episode, Fady discusses the full concept of self-sabotage with emphasis on the triggers of self-sabotage and identifying how can we tackle it and its' existence.

Ego and confidence, are two distinct conceptions of human demeanor, kinda like step-brothers. Many people tend to get confused between both concepts, as some would say that sometimes displaying 'overconfidence' may represent pride, typically unhealthy pride. Ego is like a one-way ticket to mental chaos since you're not implementing anything positive in your personal lifestyle whatsoever. It blocks someone from learning, which is the greatest natural gift anyone could develop on their path to success and a positive mindset. Additionally, you want to be a student of life; rather than being a "Mr. Know it all". Confidence is the way to go up. Ego is the way to go down. You choose your direction and your attitude will determine your destiny. In this episode, Fady discusses the difference between the mind of an egotistical and confident individual while defining both concepts with real-life examples.

Even though this episode may shift away from the 'self-development' circle, it's mainly for both individuals who are potentially in a relationship or maybe seeking to be in a relationship to claim a better mutual understanding and in hopes that this episode could widen the perceptions of what a relationship should prioritize. There has been a pessimistic outlook on how relationships are showcased nowadays as they have shown the opposite of what a relationship should consist of to promote individualistical comfortness, security, and happiness. Instead, there has been a display of examples of a "hookup culture", excessive comparisons in relationships, exclusion of commitment, and having the misconception of being the main primary source of your personal hierarchy i.e, the mindset that your partner is your source of happiness, for example. In this episode, Fady gives his personal outlook on how relationships are being illustrated in the modern day and adds a distinction between casual relationships and serious relationships throughout emphasizing the concept of commitment. Practice being in a healthy relationship that promotes mutuality in respect, trust, and love rather than constantly being in a relationship where there is a promotion in BS. Hope you find this beneficial!

Pain, an uncomfortable phase in life that every individual has to go through. Accompanied by peer pressure, depression, anxiety, and sadness, pain can sometimes cause people to feel that they are stuck and lost in where they are at in their life. Think of it like this, you are a sculpture; you're made of character, success, dreams, goals, achievements, and health, and the other half is made up of pain, sadness, anger, confusion, and overthinking. The barrier between these two blocks are the lessons that come within them i.e. the lessons behind the positive half and the lessons behind the negative half. Remember that pain helps recover a once broken individual into a strong, solid, superior human being, and its' not because of the time that has passed by during his painful feelings, but his capabilities of not only learning but proving his understanding of the lessons that he/she had to learn. In this episode, Fady explains why we go through the pain and how is that our 'sculpture' is made while also emphasizing a few major points on dealing with pain.

Another 101 episode...

The idea of resting and recovering are usually the main pillars when it comes to growth in any capacity. You're not isolating yourself from anything or anyone; you're just analyzing and acknowledging the damage inflicted on your mental wellbeing. Adding on, there is a method called the "Stop, Pause, & Play" method (I came up with this

Let's get real and get our facts straight for a second. The clothes you wear, the jewelry you put on, the car you ride, and the money you carry won't add any value to your name or your image if you walk around assuming this will make you "attractive" and a "cool" person. If you really want to attract people into your life, start digging deep into discovering the hidden individualistic luxuries you may have. You could have the most expensive clothes in your dressing room right now. Still, you don't have a vision for what you want to be in the next five years or you could focus more on buying a new high-value car and then add your modifications to it. Still, you walk around feeling entitled because you have something others don't have and start considering yourself "relevant" and what is even worse, is you don't even consider problems other people face that might discourage them from reaching success in their lives. In this episode, Fady goes through the problem of prioritizing material luxuries over individualistic luxuries while also adding a method into which you could discover and explore your hidden individualistic luxuries that rest-assured may find you attractive and cool.

When it comes to letting go, it may be difficult for some of us to fulfill this task and it may be for many reasons. However, suppose you have an exceptional level of self-awareness or awareness in general, in that case, you'd understand that it is a necessary sign to consider whenever you feel like you're not progressing as an individual,i.e. not growing as an individual. Once you surround yourself with people who don't add value, motivation to become better, respect, trust, and many traits they may lack, you'll most likely 'drop down' instead of 'fly up'. So instead of diminishing your peace with toxicity and harmfulness, learn to know the luxury of letting go and prepare yourself for a journey full of discomfortness, sadness, and even loneliness that eventually will be worth it until you find yourself a group/individual that respects, values, and most importantly encourages you to become a better version of yourself unless you want to keep hold to the uninspiring, negative, toxic group/individual that you may surround yourself with ...و ابقي سلملي علي الراحة النفسية و التحفيز السيادتك بتقول نفسك فيه Protect your own happiness and peace...

Manifestation is not easy to practice, but it's worth the practice as it's the first prerequisite to obtaining what you attract into your life and what you believe fits your life from a positive standpoint. It also comes down to how you think and affirm yourself; if you negatively affirm yourself, your mind will perceive negative thoughts towards your life and vice versa with positive affirmations as your mind is a magnet, attracting what you perceive. Once you're able to picture what you want and where you want to be in your life based on your goals, you have to work and take action otherwise, you'll most probably feel lazy and start questioning yourself about how and where you can I start when you could just start and learn along your path to success... In this episode, Fady goes through the full concept of manifestation of which how can someone be in 'manifestation mode' and distinguishing between the 'mind work' process and taking action.

Let's be honest, no one wants to feel lonely whatsoever right? Society sees loneliness as something harmful in which you may experience social anxiety and depression at some point and apparently biological disorders such as increased blood pressure. However, it shouldn't be given that perception even from a minimal standpoint as its' necessary for you to normalize being in a lonely state not for too long, but instead for a short period of time where there is a plan on you coming back to your normal 'social environment'. In this episode, Fady discusses how you can benefit most from loneliness and why you should normalize it while also discussing the downsides of a 'long-term loneliness phase' and also mentioning being single when it comes to relationships.

Perfectionism is cool and all but the thing about it is that you don't gain anything positive about it nor will you ever feel comfortable living with perfectionism. Someone would then ask "what if I want to live my life with no flaws and make mistakes along the way?". The truth of the matter is that you're going to make mistakes along the way and may possibly fall down multiple times but it's okay because these are part of your whole life and they might as well support your journey to success; 50% bad living and 50% good living. It all comes down to a matter of self-acceptance where you admire your individuality and how you are different and stand out amongst your group because the moment where you start ignoring the traits that YOU admire about YOURSELF for other people just to match their energy and personality traits, is the moment where you definitely have fucked up your own happiness and disregarded yourself as a protagonist to your story by playing another irrelevant role. In this episode, Fady talks about the importance of living without implementing other people's perception of you, embracing the unique yet special character that is inherited inside of you, and shares his experience about living with 'perfectionism in everything' lifestyle. "متحولش تبقي حد تاني غير نفسك" - احمد مكي

Overthinking is parasitic. It's not a mental disorder however, it's a common symptom of primarily anxiety, stress, and depression. Many things could mess up your mind by just falling victim to your negative affirmations and how you're finding 1000 solutions for 1000 different thoughts that are running through your head. The mind is like any other muscle when you put it under tension, it needs a recovery phase. By improvising daily positive habits, like journaling (writing every thought that goes through your head) and substituting every negative affirmation with a positive affirmation, you'll most definitely feel at rest and eliminate any negative aura that circulates around your mind. In this episode, Fady goes through the concept of overthinking and what does it feel like to have your mind constantly avoiding peace while also emphasizing the idea of accepting thoughts that are out of one's control in which if you start overthinking these uncontrollable thoughts, then you're mental energy is most probably going to drain down.

Relationships are what everyone wants in their lives in which some want to be valued, invested, and loved. Seems fine for now but there is one element in your life that needs to be prioritized before, during, and after a relationship; YOURSELF. Sometimes a relationship could go sideways when a partner lacks a 'relationship principle ' where it could be emotional attachment or lacking in the three C's in which it would then result in a 'Casual Relationship'. So when a break-up happens or rejection (if a person were to confess their love for someone), there comes a feeling of sadness, depression, and demoralization in finding love again as it can somewhat connect with a phrase such as "He/She was my source of my happiness". In this episode, Fady talks about how your relationship shouldn't primarily revolve around your partner the whole entire time, plus goes through the distinction between a 'casual' relationship and a 'serious' relationship. P.S. I'm not a dating expert nor do I have multiple experiences in relationships, I just happen to understand one or two things about maintaining and cultivating a 'healthy relationship'.

Despite the wording of this episode... there is a meaning behind that abbreviation; Self care-Happiness-Inner Peace-Time. These are essential when it comes to implementing greatness in your life and improving how we think and preview our lives nowadays. Even though they may seem pretty self-explanatory for the majority of people, Fady believes that there are methods into obtaining these elements with precision in order to live a life by cultivating positivity and eliminating any negative habits. In the words of Vex King's book, Good Vibes = Good life (an amazing book to read by the way).

How often do we avoid emotions and leave them unacknowledged? It's sometimes hard for some people to manage the skill of 'Emotional Literacy' (the ability to define how you really feel using the correct emotional terminology). In addition, there are stereotypes which are still alive nowadays that insults the emotional aspect of men's lives where it includes a response of how they should cope with their emotions such as 'Don't cry and man up' as they shouldn't reveal any emotions of themselves which would be a complete BS. In this episode, Fady goes through the concept of emotional vulnerability and how individuals should keep in check with their emotions as Fady believes it is a healthy habit for the sake of one's overall wellbeing.