Reflection on Amal Tootkay

Abdul Basit
4 min readApr 8, 2021

Tootkay! Tootkay! Tootkay! What does it even mean?

These are treatments from the land, of the land, passed on by people living on the land.

That was a mouthful. Tootka means a cure for any negative or evil thing, Tootka is a synonym of the word tona, and both used to be associated with black magic. I've been a huge believer in Tootkas and I have a firm belief in them.

So being an Amal Fellowship fellow I've learned some tootkay and cant wait to use them in my life.

Self Talk

Get out of your Comfort Zone

Create New Habits

Ask People help

Fake it till you make it

  1. Self Talk

I've always had a habit of talking to me and I think it's really important cause it helps me to dive into my consciousness and lets me explore myself. this can also include instructions, tasks as well as reminders. Self-talk can also include the conscious and unconscious beliefs you hold about yourself.

Engaging in positive self-talk can improve your outlook and your emotional well-being. Stress levels decrease when you use coping skills during challenging times. Switching to a more positive mindset keeps you from ruminating on past mistakes and your perceived shortcomings.

2. Get out of your Comfort Zone

First of all, getting out of your comfort zone isn't as bad as you think. So I had to do a speech in my college and while I was introducing myself I almost stumbled, I admitted my stage fright. This confession was met with cheers. New challenges and experiences rewire your brain and make it more adaptable, stronger, and healthier.

As your comfort zone expands, you will see new opportunities previously obscured by barriers of your own making. Life can be tough. Things can happen that will yank you right out of your comfortable nest. The more open you are to new possibilities, the more diverse your experiences, and the more confident you are in your ability to face new situations, the more resilient you will be.

3. Create new habits

So the best thing about creating habits is that habits help you set a foundation for your life, these will ultimately set the tone for your entire life. So new habit that I created was to give charity every day. Remember that in Islam giving charity can be as simple as smiling and brightening a person’s day so it can be that simple.

Get a taste of everything in your life cause life flashes so fast, so make sure it's worthwhile.

4. Ask people help

Life can be so tough and uncertain and no matter who you are, you are going to require help in any point of your life. Acknowledging the need for assistance is important, but equally important is the willingness to accept help. Being able to freely ask for help requires accepting limitations and believing that you are truly deserving of the help.

In fact, asking for help is most often viewed as a sign of strength and good judgment. So ask for help whenever and wherever you need it.

5. Fake it till you make it

Anticipatory anxiety is typically more severe than the actual experience. We tend to make the unknown more difficult than it actually is. It’s not unusual to hear people say that “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.” When you “fake it till you make it,” you step into your fears and enlarge the size of your comfort zone. If, on the other hand, you shy away from having new experiences, you decrease the size of your comfort zone.

Though excessive anxiety may work against you, having a few butterflies in your stomach may actually focus your attention and effort. One last point! Faking it does not mean that you’re doing anything dishonest or disreputable. All it means is that you’re camouflaging your insecurities rather than advertising them.

So use this tootkay in your life and don’t let your fears stop you from doing what’s challenging

Life is for a while and enjoy it with a smile

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Abdul Basit

Bachelors in Environmental Sciences , gifted napper and movie/series junkie :)