Feeling Like I’m Falling Behind in Everything - Need Advice, Please
Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. I’m a Muslim man and lately I feel like I’m failing in almost every part of my life. Life feels like a roller coaster - some days I make progress, then I slip back and wonder if I’m really moving forward at all. I’m studying right now, and my teachers say I should be getting better grades. I know I can do it, but exam nerves ruin me and my marks don’t show what I’m capable of. I keep thinking if I’d organized my studying earlier it would’ve been easier to aim for better colleges. Earlier this year I was memorizing five pages of Qur’an regularly. By summer, my ustaz encouraged me to aim higher and I set a goal to memorize three juz’ between June and August. I started well - in early June I properly committed and memorized Juz’ 28. I was so close to finishing it with only five pages left. Then I traveled and everything fell apart. Those last pages took ages and I stopped revising. By the end of summer I’d only finished that one juz’. Now consistency is my biggest struggle. Some weeks I manage a little - maybe two pages - but I hardly review what I’ve already learned. I keep promising myself I’ll get back on track, but I can’t seem to hold it together. On the fitness side, I’ve always liked training, and I’ve been working out for years, but I don’t have the physique I want. My diet used to be disciplined but it’s slipped, and my sleep is a mess. I stay up late on my phone and my mornings suffer. I know the phone is the root of most problems. I waste so much time on it - not always with obvious distractions - and the irony is I’m even coding an app to reduce screen time, yet I can’t control my own usage. I try to improve my deen too. I’ve been trying to go to the masjid for Fajr, but half the time I wake up right after the jama‘ah has finished. I still pray on time at home, but I feel ashamed that I couldn’t make it to the mosque. It hurts because these are the things that matter most. Even small things like football feel off - stuff that used to be natural now feels distant. I skipped school today because I “couldn’t be bothered,” and that just made me feel worse. Sometimes I wonder, if I met a practicing Muslim woman now, would she want to marry me? The honest answer I feel is no. I feel like I’ve let myself go mentally, spiritually, and physically. Every day I ask myself how much longer I’ll live like this. I know the main issue is my phone and wasted time, but awareness hasn’t helped me stop. My grades are dropping compared to before, my discipline is slipping, and I’m stuck in cycles of short progress followed by decline. I feel like I’m at a low point and I don’t know which way to go. I want to break this cycle and become the person I should be. Any advice would be really appreciated - especially tips on sleep. If I can sleep earlier I could start waking up for tahajjud and maybe things will change. Jazakum Allahu khayran.