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“Gam Zu L’Tovah”- this too, is for the good.
If you allow a negative perspective to shift you, your energy becomes blocked and the flow stops. If it is positive, the energy continues to flow and can enable greatness.
Our past experiences and the emotions we choose to focus on informs our future projections.
Once we start to see our energy level as something that we can control, we then start to live an empowered life.
Once we have clarity on our values and talents, our minds and bodies can lead the way.
Create higher dreams and higher standards and higher ideals of what this year can look like.
The world is constantly changing. When we don’t change with it, it holds us back in living to our greatest potential.
The more we become ok with what we can control and what we can’t control, we start to look at life and the boundaries we set as opportunities for freedom and autonomy.
The challenge of autonomy is that we are always predicting the challenges of the move ahead of us.
At our core, we cannot live lives that are fully directed by others.
When physical pleasure consumes our inner circle, there’s no room left for our spiritual desires.
Our values can give us a sense of deep satisfaction that gets us towards mastery and connects us to others.
We’re so overwhelmed with processed experiences that our ability to appreciate the healthy things in our lives is dulled.
What is the object of your mastery? What’s in the center of the game called “your life”?
As humans, we are programmed to desire the feeling of mastery over things.
Life requires us to dream and execute on those dreams.
Change is hard. It happens in little drips, sometimes undetected.
Jim Collins stated, “The enemy of great is not mediocre. The enemy of great is good.”
The process of going from good to great starts with not what you’re bad at, but from what you’re good at, and then pushing yourself through the comfort zone of good enough to get to great.
Negative thinking creates blockages to our energy source – our soul. When we think negatively about ourselves, others, or the situation we are in, we’re the ones that suffer the most.
Don’t look for meaning in your life – infuse meaning in your life. Find ways to make yourself happy in any situation.
No matter what challenges you face, there is meaning and purpose to be found. You cannot always ascribe meaning when in the moment, but a day will come when you can reflect and see how you learned and grew from the situation.
You can’t look at the past from today’s perspective. The only way to move forward is to stop looking back and continuing to grow.
“I wish I would have” thoughts are an incredible drain of our energy. It drains our mental battery and sucks away the ability to be in a position to learn, grow and change. All you have is this movement. Be mindful and focus, and you will be successful.
Every time you come into the unknown, there will be fear. Opportunity comes packaged in challenges, and we hear that voice in our heads, “Don’t even try,” “I’m too old,” The only thing that we need to change is our mentality.
Sometimes the experiences you’re going through seem unique to you – until you realize what you have learned in another area offers you insight into the other. But you need to be able to see that. You can do it.
Every experience in life, even if the substance was different, doesn’t mean that which you learned is lost. When you take on something new, you’re doing it in a way that you couldn’t have done it yesterday.
Having a growth mindset acknowledges you are capable of growth and change.
Each step, each day we get to choose to take responsibility to make our lives the best they can be. What changes are you willing to step up and take responsibility for?
When we allow ourselves to use the past as our teacher to analyze our mistakes and get uncomfortable, it can open up a world of true freedom.
Every day is an opportunity to learn from our mistakes.
The only time we really lose is when we stop playing. Our job in life is to become the greatest player we can be.
We delve into the power of personal victories. How can we achieve moments of greatness? When we build a world that when we do something that’s hard, we do it just for us, without needing the accolades from others.
We continue to discuss how doing what’s right and putting in the immense effort can often feel like we are losing when we actually are winning. Discover why Moses had his “glow” and how you can, too.
In this episode, we discuss how to be spiritual in a physical world. By bringing out the “real you”, you start to gain perspective on how to create a new way of life.
Is it ok to be down sometimes when life just doesn’t go our way? In this episode, we delve into the concepts of living a happy life. Is happiness based on the effort you put in or the results of those efforts?
Just as an iceberg is 90% underwater, most of what great people do is hidden. Living in the world of effort shields from an outcome-driven life, and we can aspire to that kind of greatness.
By letting go of the external and focusing on the internal, we give our brains the freedom to be satisfied with proper effort instead of results and other forms of outside validation.
We’re steeped in a results culture. If we shift our brains to focus only on pushing ourselves to max effort, our success and growth come from inside instead of being based on external results.
We can focus on battling ourselves or the world, not both The world requires results, and we’ll lose, but if we make high-level efforts in internal battles, we can achieve extraordinary results.
Focusing on outcomes keeps us from real change. Realizing this helps us get excited about challenges, learn to exert ourselves in the uncomfortable, and be satisfied with effort-based wins.
If we live having to be victorious over others and our environment, we win less. When we focus on effort instead of outcome, we win — and gain — far more.
Our Sages say a strong person is one who overcomes their nature. Our real victories are not over others, they’re over ourselves. Take time to identify these wins.
When we face our challenges, even if the result is not what we want, we win. Outcomes don’t matter. Our real accomplishment is making the effort and then tackling the next wall.
Taking time as day’s end to appreciate the strength God gave us and the walls we broke through allows accomplishments to settle in and we gain the true pleasure of overcoming challenges.
Commentaries on our lives come after events. They analyze what they saw, but from outside the action, not inside. When we stop listening, we can be free from “not enough” thinking.
When do we listen to the commentator inside our heads and when do we just play the game and relish the moment? Thinking about that question can make us the MVP of our lives.
Are we players or commentators? Players move. They just look forward and play. Commentators discuss, think, replay, second-guess. We choose which one we want to be.
There is a time to think and a time to act — knowing when the time is right to go over our wall and not turn around. That is having the courage to scale our walls.
We’re truly not enough for our walls, but we can tap into deep wells of strength — our souls — and accomplish things we think are beyond our capacity, moving from “not enough” to “more.”
Feeling “I’m not enough” is accurate and it’s a critical part of growth. If we don’t fall and get up, if we don’t face challenges and go through walls, we won’t grow and be satisfied with life.
Thinking that “I’m not enough” is really what holds us back. Whatever we fear — failure, what others think, etc. — when we think we can’t, we won’t go through the walls in front of us.
Our fears keep us from reaching our potential. When we articulate the things we’re afraid of, we begin the process of breaking through what’s holding us back.
Focusing on what we CAN do rather than on fear allows us to see challenges as opportunities, take them on, and be real with ourselves and the people around us.
When we’re scared to climb our walls, it’s easy to substitute with the drugs of entertainment and others’ lives, but those leave us unfulfilled. By tackling our walls, we replace fear with real living.
When inspired, we first have overcome “it’s too much” and “why me?” thinking. If we know realize that the wall in front of us is paper-thin, we can break through and act on our inspiration.
Our brains are programmed for survival. Avoiding discomfort is normal, but it keeps us from greatness. When inspired, we have an opportunity to change, and we have a choice to make.
When we work on our reactions to people, we build emotional and empathy muscles. Those efforts are really hard, yet truly holy, training us to react appropriately to negativity from others.
Negativity and pettiness in others are actually opportunities for us to build our selflessness, empathy, and self-control muscles. This strengthens our relationships even with dramatic people.
In relationships that matter, it’s so hard to get past the uncomfortable and openly discuss our feelings. Real conversations drive depth in and strengthen our relationships.
In an environment where honest and transparent speech is welcome, we can be uncomfortable and frank. This brings out the best and most important ideas.
When we use free will and choose the kind of person we want to be, our souls re-wire our minds, generating new code (i.e. patterns of thought) that creates upgrades in our lives.
We have thoughts all day about doing right and wrong, and we have the power to accept or reject each of them. It’s up to us to be traffic cops and control how we process our various thoughts.
Every challenge we face is a gift. When we receive a negative emotions (even from ourselves), we can unpack the Divine energy at the core of that negativity and leverage it for good.
Inspiration and our reactions to negativity are emotional; they dissipate quickly. When we convert them immediately into positive actions, we tap into our energy and grow.
When hurricane winds come, we can transform the punch into a positive by redirecting that energy. It’s up to us to honor the memory of those who died at Meron.
Pushing through the giving-up moment in the face of challenge is the beginning of true greatness. We honor the victims by squeezing the utmost out of the gift that is our day.
Shifting our eyes to look for the uncomfortable opportunities in our challenges leads us to value questions and chase greatness instead of comfort.
By appreciating our challenges, we shift from survival to greatness. When we push ourselves to tap into the energy of uncomfortability, we can change how we measure our days.
As we extend our roots into the ground, we can maintain our integrity when we’re tested. Visualizing our roots going deeper each time the wind blows builds that strength.
When we hit peaks and valleys, we can go the well of our energy to get through. Even better: Build a system to bring our energy from that well into our lives on demand and consistently.
We want to tap into something greater than ourselves, but how? Recovering addicts can inspire us and give us strength to take the energy inside and force it out so we can raise our standards.
Knowing our strengths, weaknesses and includations is helpful and important, but we sell ourselves short when we think we know our limitations and how big our energy reservoir is
Until we push past our limits, we don’t know our abilities. Our souls have an endless supply of energy, but we don’t know it until we spend all that we think we have in the tank.
We can direct the power and strength God gives us each day. That energy is a gift that comes with a mission: We have focus and bring it to the things we need to get done.
Our brains try to protect us by encouraging comfort and relaxation, but when we infuse our time with energy, enhthusiasm and boldness, we can accomplish so much more.
By investing our focus on every moment, we can live each one to the fullest without one bleeding into another. With this crossing over, we treat time with the respect it deserves.
Like a patient who lives despite slim chances of survival, there is no “natural” explanation for the existence of the State of Israel. When we’re asked “Where is God?” Israel answers the question.
On Yom HaZikaron, if we put ourselves in the shoes of those who sacrificed for Israel, we can truly empathize and learn of the greatness that comes from living for cause.
Time is not ours, it’s an investment in us by God. We have a responsibility to use it well. If we start our mornings with gratitude, it sets a tone that can carry us through the day.
When we appreciate productive time and don’t try to be where we’re not, we can take responsibility because we won’t want to waste that time ever.
When we appreciate every moment instead of forcing accomplishment into them all, we can be amazed by time and live overflowing with gratitude for the day.
Holocaust survivors have gifted us with a level of strength we cannot imagine. Our duty to them is to carry and build on their legacy, thrive, and make them proud.
When we are responsible for our spending our time productively and with focus, we can cross the long bridge from our heads to our hearts, gaining awareness that builds ourselves and others.
In new situations, our brains work harder, but then things become routine and time seems to fly. When we automate our day for excellence, we can feel each moment and really engage.
When we hold onto grudges and regrets, we can never be free to realize our potential. When we decide to do the work of forgiving and letting go, we can really be free.
When we feel frustrated when we know we didn’t give our best effort, but when we do, we feel free. By pushing the bounds of our comfort zone, we free ourselves to achieve greatness.
In Egypt, God told the Jews to bring a sheep, an Egyptian god, into their houses in preparation for Passover. That was a big risk for an enslaved people, but it started them toward freedom.
Our internal timelines tell us something is wrong if results aren’t immediate. Focusing on what’s right at this moment and on the task at hand frees us from the need for immediacy.
We have a narrative from our ancestors. When we face negativity, whether internal or external, we can choose that bigger, shared narrative of strength to overcome the challenge.
By controlling the narrative, we can help ourselves and others be resilient. In the face of negativity, we can change the narrative to one of positivity to empower ourselves and those around us.
Stories become the narratives that remind us of events in our lives. Memories can block us or empower us. The narratives that are told to us and that we tell ourselves become who we are.
Facts change from one story to another, but the power of the story is in the arc of the narrative, which binds us together and builds a foundation for a relationship.
The feeling of “I’m Not Enough” is hard because it’s the world of “I,” but we need to so we can learn that our true essence is in devoting ourselves to the people and tasks in front of us.
Behind “I’m not enough” is a self-focus that tricks us into thinking we need to fight for more “for me.” If we attack the “I,” we can instead do what’s right simply because it’s right.
Negative interactions throw us off and we tend to think we’re “not enough.” In reality, no one is “enough.” Our “not enough” areas are opportunities to get a little better every day.
Connecting what’s outside with what’s inside us creates desire. We feel completion from bringing the outside and inside together. Channeling our desire this way focuses us on giving.
Underneath thought and speech lies a drive to fulfill a deep-seated desire. We speak negatively when the underlying need comes from a feeling of “not enough.”
Thinking carefully about our words when speaking emotionally keeps unproductive feelings out of the package we deliver. Then we can figure out the issue behind the emotions.
By sharpening the swords that are our mouths every day, we can first think clearly, then infuse our speech with the precise energy we want to communicate our empathy.
When we respect the fact that others see the world differently than we do, we can listen to them with genuine care and empathy, even if we disagree with them.
The body is a garment for the soul like a shirt for the body. So, too, our words, are garments for our thoughts. Others respond to us when we choose words on emotional and spiritual levels.
Through empathy, we can understand what a room needs from us when we enter, allowing us to give over our wisdom. This heart-to-heart connection opens others to our positive influence.
By approaching every situation asking, “What do YOU need from me right now?” we direct our attention to others’ needs and can be givers based on those needs.
When we enter one of the rooms of our mind, if we adjust the dimmer to “what is needed from me in this moment,” we can pay full attention to what’s in front of us and build connection.
Instead of living in an auditorium filled with people and noise, if we build thresholds to smaller rooms in the mansion of our minds, we can connect deeply to people, activities, and tasks.
The deliberate creation of rituals helps us build thresholds. These habits trigger thought and behavior patterns we build to be fully present in all situations.
Thresholds to shallow, stimulus-rich experiences are fast but unfulfilling. For deeper experiences, thresholds start slowly, require patience, and create real pleasure.
When we create meaningful thresholds between important spaces, times, and places in our lives, we train ourselves to reach greater depth in our relationships and our work.
When we use ritual to build a path to depth in relationships and actions, it becomes our normal, and when we reach the threshold to our path, we can click into it easily.
Our souls have all the fuel they need to face challenges like a champion. When we spread our energy around to tasks that distract us, we lose the benefits of gold-medal immersion.
Certain body-level emotions pull us away from the moment G-d put in front of us. Soul-level emotions like joy and gratitude sharpen our focus and help us fully connect to the moment.
All of the depth we want in life is right in front of us if we learn to tap into spiritual frequencies. When we do, every moment becomes an opportunity to grow, connect, and give.
When we try to force spiritual growth, it doesn’t flow. We have to put in the work because it’s right, not because of some outcome we expect. Growth will follow.
Connecting in a deep way to the people and the things in front of us allows us to reach levels of pleasure far beyond the physical world.
When we plug into the Source of all life, we can harness the Divine energy the pulses through the world. Looking for outlets leads us to connect with that Divine energy in other people.
We crave unity, being deeply connected to others. Our true happiness comes from uniting with others through giving, which unifies our souls with something bigger than ourselves.
Our souls ache for the chance to connect with and sacrifice for others. That’s kingship. The only path to meaning and purpose is that of giving ourselves to something bigger than us.
The first level of our foundation is knowing how we want to be remembered. Focusing on values leads to recognizing what we’re willing to sacrifice for, to choose Team over Self. This is royalty.
The very best WANT to be in the biggest game. The risk is high but worthwhile because worse than failing is not pushing for greatness. The best want and are grateful for challenge.
By embracing our challenges and seeing obstacles as lighting our path to greatness, we bring meaning to our everyday and build our patience and empathy muscles.
The challenges we face daily are battlefields over core values. They are opportunities to strengthen ourselves, to live at a higher level, and to become the people we’re meant to become.
Tools like journaling help us achieve clarity, allowing us to set our best goal: figuring out who we want to be. Then we can see that our struggles are there for us to achieve greatness.
The values and principles by which we live write the story of our lives. By aligning with ourselves our challenges, we can tackle them with zeal.
By focusing on our values and principles, we can complete our individual tasks and not be distracted by the tasks of others and the symbols of society.
By chasing goals and symbols imposed on us by others, we give up control of our core principles. It up to us to cross the river, as Abraham did.
When we are clear about our foundations — our values and what we stand for — we can drive our lives forward and control the aspects of life that we are able to control.
Tu B’Shevat celebrates the unseen foundations that are the start of growth. Once we know what we’re willing to die for, real living begins when we sacrifice for those things.
The things we do throughout the day rest on top of something. That foundation is key. When we begin with striving for greatness, we are able to sacrifice for what is really meaningful.
Pushing ourselves to look at the things we do as our livelihood helps us fully commit to what we’re doing and push past comfort into the mediocrity-killing pain of sacrifice.
When we sacrifice for things that matter, that process distills us and removes the just-be-comfortable mediocrity from our system regardless of the results.
When we give, disconnecting the recipient’s reaction from our giving feelings is very difficult. If we feel we’re sacrificing, we may measure the result of the gift, which increases our pain.
As we give, we eventually have to overcome the challenge of not receiving feedback. That requires sacrifice, which means giving even when we don’t feel like it. This is the realm of real growth.
People can feel it when we invest our speech and our listening with authentic emotion. This builds them while also building our relationships and gives us deep satisfaction.
Listening means having no agenda. When we fully listen in order to understand — not convince — others, we’re practicing empathy and give them something of real value.
When we dig deeper to learn what someone really needs, our sensitivity and thoughtfulness make us better givers and builds the recipients of our giving.
Building others up is a slow process. Be empathizing we give from the receiver’s perspective. Then, it’s not about getting credit when they “arrive.”
Beyond giving is the level of empowering others. By listening, supporting, and believing in others, we enable them to become bigger themselves.
By focusing our giving on the needs of the recipient rather than on what we would prefer, we show them what empathy is and help them grow as givers.
Sometimes when the best gift we can give someone is the let them give to us. By receiving, we empower others and teach them to also be better givers.
We start becoming a giver by deciding to become one. The more we give and the more we focus on giving, the more we become worthy of giving and the more giving opportunities G-d offers us.
It’s scary to put ourselves out there, but once we recognize what stops us from being next-level givers, and if we push ourselves and really, truly want it, we can attain that level.
Relationships are either transactional or unconditional. When we fully focus on giving unconditionally, our stance toward others is totally different than if we’re concerned about the return.
The ability to be a giver makes us sweeter, better people, and is the greatest gift we can have. Receiving, when it’s not paired with giving, spoils the receiver.
When giving is our real goal, we’re emulating G-d, not being taken. Sometimes that means receiving or holding back, but always other-focued.
To build giving without expectations into our lives, it’s best to start small and work up to bigger things. That way, it will be easier to deal with unexpected reactions.
Giving and expecting nothing in return, even acknowledgment, is what matters. That’s doing the right thing and bringing light into the world. How others react is irrelevant.
When we make giving to others our mission in life — giving simply for the sake of giving — we can stay above the fray when others don’t appreciate it or reciprocate.
When we live with our focus on gratitude, we model this behavior for those who are less emotionally mature than us and teach them how to reach that level.
Expressed gratitude empowers others to find their greatness, which makes the world a better place. More than that, when we are kind to others, we are emulating our Creator.
Being grateful helps us let go of trying to control the world. When we simply appreciate others, we make them feel great, we make the world better, and we give room to grow.
Expressing our gratitude orally makes us bigger and better people. If we make sure to do this every day, and even start each day this way, we will be transformed.
When we take the time to choose to be grateful to those who have made a positive impact on our lives, we can slow ourselves down and become great like them.
By prioritizing our focus on what’s urgent AND important, not just urgent, we avoid getting sucked into other people’s drama and we can be grateful for all that we have.
When we sip rather than gulp from the cup of life, when we take our time and infuse our moments with gratitude, we can avoid getting into an emotional state of tilt and live with real joy.
Growing in our character traits as we mature is part of becoming a real adult. Working on these aspects of ourselves leads us to appreciate what we have and to be other-focused.
The trait of gratitude can help us push past competing and accomplishing and lead us into the battle to recognize the good in our lives and be humble.
Building up our reservoir of Hod (Hebrew for gratitude, acknowledgment) allows us to fill ourselves with positivity. This helps us overcome challenge and anxiety.
When we lead with appreciation, we desire to do and share more. Our ambition comes from this, not from a feeling of lack, which allows us to be balanced in times of challenge.
Planning is important, but living in the here and now allows us to bring out our essence and be the best we can be.
Joseph teaches us to recognize that we can’t predict the future, to accept circumstances, to be resilient, and to make the very best of every moment and every situation.
The next level of immersion is choosing to live deeply inside any situation, without pre-judgment, even when our plans go awry.
We’re able to see nuance and detail that we miss if we don’t immerse ourselves in our tasks. By delving in, we build neurological connections that lead to greatness.
When we fully immerse in the tasks at hand, we notice, understand, and gain more from our efforts. This gets us closer to greatness.
Immersing ourselves in what we’re doing helps us gain insights and understanding we would not reach if didn’t dive deeply into it.
If we know our essence, we’ll want to share. This leads to “Doing” with purpose (instead of just to keep busy), which leads to excellence.
Focusing on our “Do” and our aspirations for greatness helps us build boundaries to protect our minds and avoid focusing on “Have.”
If we’re merely surviving in life, we get nowhere. If we choose what we allow into our minds, we can really get somewhere.
If we don’t guard the gates to our minds, letting just anything into our heads, we use up our attention on nothingness and condemn ourselves to mediocrity.
Life’s stimuli are chaotic. We make more by worrying, replaying the past, multitasking, etc. We crave the release of the tension these cause us.
Immersing ourselves in an activity deepens our relationship with it, which makes it more meaningful. Then, when that activity gets challenging, we’re better able to overcome.
Feeling disempowered creates a cycle of negativity. We can break by honoring others, especially the ones who disempower us.
We don’t really know why people say disempowering things, and we risk damage if we believe them. If we see the honor and greatness in such people, it empowers us.
We naturally prefer the familiar, but that’s a trap. Each time we choose where our minds go it changes how we feel about ourselves.
If we’re living outside-in, we’ll be thrown by circumstances. If we focus on our essence (our “Be”) instead of our impact (our “Have”), we can get to living inside-out.
Acting “too cool for school,” whether as a child or even as an adult, is a shield, a shell that stifles our “Be.” It comes from feeling our value is “doing-” and impact-based.
Fighting for humility helps us identify with our intrinsic value over our physical side. Humility allows us to achieve on the outside without giving up who we are on the inside.
Being humble is not “I can’t” or “I’m not enough.” It’s also not “I can” or “I am.” It’s a sense that something bigger than me provides my power.
Satisfying a physical hunger gives us a temporary hit. Spiritual pleasure comes from the feeling we get when we focus on others.
Our infinite soul is more valuable than everything we will do in life. We get satisfaction from bringing our soul’s power into the physical world.
“Be” comes before “Do.” By recognizing that our soul is infinitely valuable, “Doing” naturally follows “Being,” and we can share our light with others.
True greatness is based on recognizing the Infinite within, developing an intimate relationship with the Creator, and knowing our value is based simply on our existence.
Seeing ourselves as physical rather than spiritual beings hurts us. When we see our own potential, we can fail, grow, and avoid blaming.
Every person is home to a Divine soul and should be honored. We, too, have that Divine soul, even if others don’t see it.
Our words have the power to open or close another’s soul. Recognizing the Divine within us can protect us from others’ hurtful words.
Complimenting other people conditions us to look for the good in them and to honor them. This lifts our eyes, allowing us to see our own greatness as well.
It’s hard work to focus on honoring other people, but when we condition ourselves to look past the physical, we connect in a spiritual way to the value and depth of others.
Seeing others for who they are makes them feel honored and helps them see themselves and feel valued and accepted.
Genuine honor of another person means seeing past their physical selves and recognizing them for the soul they truly are on the inside.
It’s critical that we learn to look past the surface of someone’s actions or status, seek out their values, and, once we find them, treasure them.
We take your questions and discuss: How role modeling works best to influence others; and how the point of honoring is to uncover treasured values and align ourselves to them.
When we work to bring our desires, values, and focus into alignment with what we honor, we bring out the depth of the values we stand for.
Intentionally surrounding ourselves with people, things, and ideals we value naturally aligns us with them, inclines us toward them, and helps us become our best selves.
Greatness comes from what we do when we can just “be.” Those things are based on the values and actions of those we honor.
The things to which we give honor drive us. When we honor values over material things, we set a trajectory for a life of growth and meaning.
What we really want, where we’re putting our eyes — that tells us who we really are. This is the attribute of honor.
We take your questions and discuss: Calibrating giving with discipline so we’re not overdoing it; and how identifying our natural laziness allows us to overcome it.
Our discipline benefits others. When we control ourselves and focus on others, we extend and expand ourselves beyond what we were before and we uncover more power within.
If we see self-discipline as all or nothing, like a light switch, it’s too much, but if we envision it as a dimmer, we can set our goals at appropriate levels.
If we imagine the joy we’ll feel in the future when we look back at today and the challenge we will have overcome, and then bring that feeling into the present, we benefit immediately.
Imagination is the key to discipline. It’s a gift that allows us to see into the future, plan properly, and envision our success. We then feel awesome and build the discipline muscle.
The best way to win any fight by not fighting. By recognizing that we’re built to have impulses and by planning ahead for challenge, we are able to go over the fight.
We take your questions and discuss planning ahead for the negative reactions of others; pitching in to teach and lead rather than taking over, and more.
Our future selves are different than we expect. We plan from our rational brains, but if we prepare knowing that we WILL be impulsive, we’ll be ready to fight our irrational brains.
To start implementing discipline, we can look ahead and use delaying tactics. These help our rational brains out-maneuver our “hot,” irrational brains.
The limbic (or “hot”) system of our brains feeds us impulses. When we remember “that’s not me,” we can filter them out and build a disciplined mind.
When we harness the power and positive energy of our zeal, we are able to focus on the things that are right and good for us.
We transition from zeal to strength through selectivity. We have to figure out when to hold back our zeal. This is called self-control, strength, or discipline.
We take your questions and discuss using the trait of zeal on a day-to-day basis. We perfect ourselves in our use of zeal by growing through its five levels in turn.
The good voice in our heads says “we should be doing … .” By identifying the battles we need to have but that are not in front of us right now, we can level up in zeal.
The maximum-strength aspect of zeal helps us move past “boredom,” fight off the voice that says we can’t, and stay enthusiastic all the way to the goal.
Being fast-acting and build strategies to overcome the negative inner voice feels good. Then we can use maximum strength to close out the challenge.
A voice inside says “we can’t.” By memorializing our excuses, we can develop better strategies to overcome the inner critic.
With zeal, we drive our thoughts and actions. When we sit in the passenger seat, we learn laziness from the inaction.
Our desire to rationalize is very strong. We have to use the muscle of zeal to be fast-acting and break free from mediocrity.
Opportunities for growth come packaged in challenge at the most unexpected times. The first component of zeal is to be fast-acting. Get up and do it even when we don’t feel like it.
It’s normal to be unexcited about challenging things. This allows us to push ourselves, When we bring our Fire to the day rather than our Earth, we lead with greatness.
Enthusiasm drives real success. When we’re fueled by passion, hustle — zeal — we can easily learn to act, do or speak (or not) properly. Without zeal, something always gets in the way.
Winter is a time to work on our character, to build ourselves to greatness. Then, when summer, which is a time of exposure hits and the spotlight finds us, we’ll be ready.
In this special holiday episode, we discuss how the spiritual energy of Sukkot allows us to connect more deeply and more meaningfully with ourselves and others during this time.
Ability doesn’t lead to responsibility, rather, taking responsibility leads to ability. When we step up, it reveals the greatness latent inside us.
By infusing our words with belief, we can build our speech into a creative entity. This changes the process of growth as we condition ourselves to stay true to our commitments.
Special holiday episode: This is THE greatest day of the year, a day of escaping the physical and reconnecting with our loving Father in Heaven.
Asking ourselves important questions at this special time helps us identify themes. The mantras we then build become pills we can take to help us overcome challenges and negative thinking.
We don’t naturally know how to be better, and it feels like walking in the dark. If we regularly say positive words, we can rewrite negative narratives in our minds.
Our internal commentary shapes how we see the world. If we speak out a positive spin on negative thoughts, the words we use can change how we interact with others.
Deepening relationships with others, G-d, even our work, connects us and decreases our need to acquire more stuff. If we focus on the material, life is a treadmill instead of a ladder.
Relating to a Spiritual Being while living in a material world is hard. With the Divine is inside each of us, we can reach new levels of understanding, growth and greatness.
We have to place the right things in the center of our lives. When we focus on those things and ignore the circumstances around us, we can avoid being thrown into a state of tilt.
When we look at what others do and have, it creates negativity and puts a lid on our potential. When we look inside and appreciate our blessings, we move from “why” to “how.”
Looking at negatives as opportunities to grow can create excitement. This will allow us to lose ourselves the important work we’re doing right now.
We can empower ourselves through perspective by knowing where the battle is being fought and keeping in mind that challenges are gifts to help us improve and grow.
“Getting back” at someone feels like re-balancing the scales of justice. But when only we are responsible for our thoughts and emotions, we can separate from negativity.
The importance of centering our actions and decisions on wisdom, and how to see both opportunities to give and moments of pain as having purpose.
Extreme ownership can lead to trying in vain to assert control over circumstance. If we instead take extreme ownership only of our feelings and actions, it empowers us.
Getting frustrated with others’ issues leads us to blaming. Our job is to grapple with, own and embrace challenges, and to fix ourselves.
Looking at the world through a lens of giving creates a feeling of abundance and blessing. Those feelings empower us to seek responsibilities and opportunities for giving.
Taking the step of being bigger, then waiting for the other is a trap. If we approach challenge as a custom-made virtual-reality “game,” we can win by rising above.
Consistently rising above negativity and behaving in a bigger way is real leadership and becomes the style that others will follow.
Friday Q&A: Ignoring negativity and being positive toward others frees from their drama and leaves us space to be givers.
Trying to project what’s in another person’s head is doomed to failure. If we keep our relationships simple, focused only on giving, they will be much more fulfilling.
We burn energy judging others based on facial expressions and body language. Most of the time, what’s really happening has nothing to do with us, and judging positively frees our minds.
Our minds are programmed for survival. When we re-program them to assume the best and focus on the positive, we rise above instinctual behavior and free ourselves from negativity.
Treasuring our thoughts is so important. By guarding our minds against external circumstances, we protect ourselves from others’ negativity.
Circumstance and our feelings are separate things. When we detach what happens to us from our emotions, we can react in an empowered, positive and productive way.
How to stay positive in a negative environment, how to journal more effectively by creating space for yourself, how to build good habits +1 step at a time, and more!
