Learned Helplessness

There’s a fascinating psychology experiment that illustrates learned helplessness—a phenomenon where people stop trying because they believe they can’t succeed.

A group of students was given a set of scrambled letters and asked to form as many words as possible. But here’s the twist: half the students were unknowingly given an impossible set in the first few rounds. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t find any words.

When they were finally given a real set with solvable words, they didn’t even try. They had learned that “trying doesn’t work,” so they gave up—despite now having the ability to succeed.

How often do we do this in our own lives? We tell ourselves:

❌ I’ll never figure out my purpose.
❌ I’m just not good at business.
❌ Other people can succeed, but I’m different.

Not because it’s true, but because we’ve taught ourselves to believe it.

But here’s the thing—Allah (SWT) has already told us the truth:

“Man was not created to be defeated.”
— Ibn Qayyim

Which means: if the opportunity is in front of you, you are capable of it. Even if you’ve failed before. Even if you think you can’t. Your past attempts don’t define your future success.

The only thing keeping you stuck is your belief that you’re stuck.

So, if you’ve been telling yourself a story about what you can’t do, maybe it’s time to rewrite that. Maybe you can.

If this is something you struggle with, my coaching container is designed to help you break free from these mental barriers and step into the future Allah (SWT) has written for you.

Ready to stop thinking you’re stuck and start moving forward? Let’s talk.

Email me to schedule your free one hour consultation to see where you are and how we can get you where you want to be.

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Salam 👋🏽, I’m Meha, a life & purpose coach focused on empowering Muslim women to live more fulfilled lives and achieve success on their own terms.