Shifting from Pressure to Presence

Written by Isra Altayar

As the year comes to an end, many of us feel the familiar pressure creeping in.

Did I do enough? Achieve enough? Become enough?

We scroll through highlights, goals met (and unmet), milestones ticked off… and somewhere beneath it all, a quiet exhaustion settles in. Not because we didn’t try hard enough, but because we’ve been trying too hard, living from the mind instead of the soul, from doing instead of being.

This reflection isn’t about judging the year.

It’s about witnessing it.

It’s about reflecting, without adding even more pressure.

True reflection isn’t simply a performance review.

It’s a moment of honesty with compassion.

It’s a return to Raḥma and Iḥsān; mercy in the heart and excellence in our actions.

Growing towards mastery must be accompanied by Raḥma for it to be purposeful and soul-centred. Without it, striving becomes harsh. With it, growth becomes meaningful.

What did this year teach me, not just about success, but about myself?

Where did I live from pressure, and where did I live from presence?

When did I feel aligned, and when was I merely pushing through?

Where did I feel stress and procrastination, and where did I feel aligned and in flow?

Some life lessons didn’t arrive as achievements.

They arrived in silences and pauses.

Often, we retrospectively realise that what felt like breakdowns were actually the painful moments that forced us to slow down and listen.

All of these moments count. And when we pause, breathe, and stay present with them, (without judgement) we begin to see beauty in every experience, whatever it brings.

From doing to being

We live in a world that rewards effort, productivity, and constant movement.

Yet the most profound growth often happens in stillness.

Being doesn’t mean giving up ambition.

It means allowing your worth to exist before your output.

It is reconnecting with the creation of Allah before obsessing over what we desire to create.

When you move from being rather than forcing:

• your actions become clearer

• your decisions feel lighter

• your energy becomes sustainable

You stop chasing external validation and begin responding from inner alignment.

Entering the new year with presence

The new year doesn’t need another version of you built on pressure.

It needs YOU; present, grounded, and connected.

Instead of asking,

What do I want to achieve this year?

Try asking:

• How do I want to feel?

• What kind of energy do I want to carry?

• What version of me feels most truthful?

Presence is a powerful foundation.

From it, intention grows naturally.

Connecting with your Creator and within

When life feels noisy, the soul whispers.

But how often do we truly tune in to listen?

Connection isn’t always found in just doing more spiritual practices or adding more routines. Often, it’s found in remembering, remembering that you are supported, guided, and already enough.

Whether you name it faith, purpose, or inner wisdom, reconnecting with something higher anchors you beyond outcomes. And you come to realise that the strongest anchor is the only truly consistent One: your Lord and Creator.

He created you in the best of ways and instilled in you beautiful qualities. Reconnecting within teaches you tawakkul, to trust Allah fully, and in doing so, to trust yourself again.

Achieving without hassle

Achievement doesn’t have to feel like struggle.

When actions flow from clarity rather than fear, from purpose rather than comparison,

from trust rather than urgency, you naturally achieve great things without burning yourself out.

This is the kind of success that feels calm, embodied, and whole.

This is what we, as women, are called towards.

Being the best YOU

The best version of you isn’t the most productive or the most impressive.

It is the most aligned.

The most honest.

The most present.

As you step into the new year, I invite you to release the weight of pressure and choose presence instead.

Because when you live from the soul,

Doing becomes meaningful,

Success becomes spacious,

becoming yourself becomes enough,

and abundance begins to flow.

If you’d like to explore more on Goal Setting join us on Monday 12th Jan for our online workshop, ticket link below