Filled or Empty Free Time: Growth or Stagnation? Assalamu alaikum

Assalamu alaikum. What do you feel when you aren’t moving physically, studying, or practising a creative skill? Positive vibes, or more negative thoughts? Do you believe spending most of your spare time idle - mentally and physically - is the best way to use it? Will a passive lifestyle improve your life over the years? What happens if you stay only in “consumption mode” and never switch to “growth mode”? Which one brings more inner peace: consuming or growing? After your daily duties are done - work, family, school - have you noticed the quality of your thoughts when you’re just idle? You might find they tilt negative. Maybe you recognise some of these patterns: • Replaying bad memories over and over. • Running endless imagined scenarios about past arguments or painful moments, tweaking every detail. • Wondering how life would be now if you’d chosen differently, sometimes even indulging in that self-blame. • Forecasting countless possible futures and worrying about them. • Daydreaming about an amazing future while doing nothing in the present. • Falling into a cycle of dread about some upcoming duty: first you mentally punish yourself now, then you suffer while doing the task, then after it’s done you start dreading the next one. Wouldn’t it be better to use that spare time for a physical or intellectual activity that helps you grow as a person? Or will you let your mind keep harming itself and waste your precious time and energy? One practical trick is to “catch” yourself when negative thoughts start, and switch immediately to something more productive - physical or mental. The better you get at noticing when you’re self-harming with thoughts, the more you’ll invest time in growth, and the more peace you’ll feel. No need to overthink which productive activity to choose: start small. Go for a walk or exercise, pick up an old hobby like reading or writing, or practise something that gets your creativity flowing. Or maybe begin that personal project you’ve been postponing for years - something that brings hope. It’s your choice how to spend your priceless time and energy. So, what will you choose: personal growth, or the familiar path of self-damaging thoughts in your free time?