At first, the hour felt unbearable. No phone. No snack. No background noise pretending to be comfort. Just her. And the pull. Her hand reached for the phone without thinking. Her mind whispered, “Just five minutes. You’ve earned it.” She resisted. Not heroically. Not gracefully. Awkwardly. Restlessly. The minutes dragged. Her body felt louder than her thoughts. Hunger knocked. Boredom paced the room. The nafs complained. But she stayed. The second day, the same hour came again. The pull was still there— but weaker. Her hand paused this time. By the fifth day, something unexpected happened. The hour no longer felt empty. Her breathing softened. Her thoughts slowed. The restlessness lost its urgency. What once felt like deprivation began to feel like space. By the tenth day, she noticed something deeper. The joy she used to chase through instant comfort had been shallow and brief. But this new calm—earned, delayed, chosen—lingered. She wasn’t forcing herself anymore. She was adapting. Her nafs had learned a new rhythm. Not everything that calls you deserves an answer. Not every urge needs immediate relief. Some things grow sweeter when waited for. And slowly, almost quietly, she realized: Delayed gratification doesn’t feel like punishment forever. At some point— it starts feeling like freedom. *Soft Coaching Takeaway* Every time you say “not now” to the nafs, you train it to trust something better is coming.