If we truly appreciate the gift of life that the Almighty gave us, we will constantly say, “No complaints, I’m alive.”
When you experience joy for being alive, these positive feelings create a context that free you from the thoughts and feelings that create complaints.
Sources: For a series of probing questions on this topic, see Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s “Gateway to Self Knowledge,” pp.164-7
Feel joy with what the Almighty has given you, and do not focus your thoughts on what He has not given you.
Imagine how you would feel if you gave someone a present (although you had no obligation to do so), and he immediately complained that you didn’t give him twice as much! You would certainly regret having given him anything.
Failure to appreciate what the Almighty gives you is behaving in a similar manner.
Today, write a list of things you feel you have overlooked appreciating in the past. Be resolved to start feeling grateful for those things.
Sources: see Dubner Maggid; Sefer Hamidos: shaar hasinah, ch.2; Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s Gateway to Happiness, p.37
For a wise person, there is no greater joy than that of improving his character traits. When someone reaches this level, he can feel joy even when someone insults him – because he has worked himself free of all animosity and resentment.
Take pleasure every time you: – control yourself from getting angry – are patient with others – overcome your desires – react positively instead of with envy about someone else’s accomplishments.
Sources: see Chazon Ish – Emunah U’bitochon, 4:15; Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s “Gateway to Happiness,” p.110
A master at accessing and creating joyous states will find it easier to master patience. While others stew and fret over delays and the need to wait, the joyous person will use the Creator’s gift of a brain to experience positive thoughts and feelings.
-from Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s book “Patience.”
We all have experienced zrizus and moments of joyful willpower. That is, we did things swiftly and right away. There are many instances when we felt motivated to do something positive that we strongly wanted to do and felt good about actually doing them.
When you recall a moment of zrizus and joyful willpower, you can experience in the present how you felt then, and recall what actions this led you to do. See what you saw when you felt the feelings of zrizus and joyful willpower. Hear what you heard when you felt the feelings of zrizus and joyful willpower. Feel what you felt when you felt the feelings of zrizus and joyful willpower.
-from Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s book: “Taking Action” – page 90
People who get things done make “to do” lists. Considering it important to take action on your “to do” list leads to taking care of things. When you create a “to do” list, label it “to do with joy.”
When you explicitly write that it is a “to do with joy” list, you are giving yourself a valuable message: You are telling your mind to remember to be joyful.
A person might feel rushed to do all the things on the “to do” list. A person might feel a little resentful or overwhelmed that he or she has so many things to do. But when you call your list a “to do with joy list,” you are preparing yourself to feel good while you do the things that you want to do.
-from Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s book: “Taking Action” – page 72
Some people might take action, but with resentful zrizus. “I shouldn’t really have to do this,” they say to themselves. “Someone else should take care of this.”
There is a well-known idea expressed by the late Rabbi Chaim Friedlander: “If you are doing it anyway, you might as well do it with joy.”
This is so important and valuable that it’s worth repeating. “If you are doing it anyway, you might as well do it with joy.” We are constantly choosing our thoughts, our feelings, our words, and our actions. You can choose to feel distressed or joyful about taking care of the things that you need to take care of. When you take action with zrizus, choose joyful zrizus.
-from Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s book: “Taking Action” – page 60
Your thoughts are the source of your willpower. The actions you take flow from your thoughts about them. Every step you take is through the use of your willpower. Every time you do anything, it is through the use of your willpower.
A person who uses his willpower to engage in meaningful goals will feel a great sense of victory and joy. This might be difficult initially, but in the long run a person who uses willpower wisely will live a life full of joyful accomplishments.
You have the ability to choose to be joyful when you use your willpower in positive, meaningful ways. There is tremendous power in mastering “joyful willpower,” to joyfully do what is in your best interests to do.
-from Rabbi Zelig Pliskin”s book: “Taking Action” – pages 16-17
Rabbi Zelig Pliskin – Found at the website promoting the book “The Light From Zion.”
During a holiday, students at the Lakewood Yeshiva were elated at the words of Rabbi Aharon Kotler, the Rosh Yeshiva, who had just delivered an inspiring holiday lecture.
At the end of his talk, the students began to sing a tune to the words from King David’s Psalms, “Were it not for Thy Torah being my delight, I would have succumbed to my poverty…”
Rabbi Kotler interrupted the singing, and said with great joy:
“King David was tremendously wealthy. Yet except for the enduring possession of Torah, King David was drowning in a sea of poverty!”
-from Rabbi Shaul Kagan – Jewish Observer 5/73; cited in Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s Gateway to Happiness, p.97
Sorry I haven’t been around much, but I was visiting my aged Mom in Southwestern Utah, an eight or nine hour drive from where I live in Southwestern Idaho. Just got back yesterday, but then we have the grandkids, so I’m still busy. Managed to finally catch up on my sleep last night, but will still be busy catching up with events at home, so my online writing will still suffer.
Rabbi Zelig Pliskin – Found at the website promoting the book “The Light From Zion.”
The more you engage in joyful and grateful self-talk, the more your mind will be free from worry.
Some people tell themselves, “It’s my nature to worry.” But the truth is that no one is born a worrier. A person might have started worrying at a young age and have many early memories of worrying. A person might find it very difficult not to worry. But this isn’t someone’s basic nature. Worry is essentially self-talk about something negative that you hope won’t happen. You feel anxious and distressed about the possibility.
One way out of the worry pattern is to think of potential solutions. Whenever you worry about something, imagine three or more alternate outcomes.
A happy and joyful person has mastered the art of thinking in patterns that create happiness and joy. Let this be your mind.
from Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s book: Conversations With Yourself, pp.258-9
poweredbyrobots.com 