Tag Archives: motivation

Quoting: Humility with Greatness

The type of humility the Torah advocates comes only after one realizes how elevated he really is. Then there is value to humility. A lack of this awareness is not a virtue, but a major fault.

Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman was asked if his teacher the Chafetz Chaim, who was an extremely humble person, was aware of his own greatness.

“Yes,” Rabbi Elchonon replied. “Although the Chafetz Chaim was imbued with great humility, nevertheless he frequently acknowledged personal responsibility for the spiritual welfare of his entire generation.”

Sources: Chovos Halvovos 6:2; Ohr Elchonon, vol.1, p.64; Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s Gateway to Happiness, p.124

Quoting: Recognize Your Greatness

A person is obligated to say:

“The world was created for me” (Talmud – Sanhedrin 37a), and

“When will my deeds reach the level of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?”

The Torah attitude is that we are obligated to be aware of our greatness. Feel proud that you are created in the image of the Almighty. Pride in the elevation of your soul is not only proper, but is actually an obligation to recognize your virtues and to live with this awareness.

-Sources: Toras Avraham, p.49; Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s Gateway to Happiness, p.119

Quoting: Formulas for Happiness

A master of happiness will appreciate what he or she has while they have them and the moment any specific thing is gone or lost, the focus will be on other things to appreciate and be grateful for. At times, this could be gratitude for the memories that remain. Material and physical objects are temporary, memories are forever.

-Rabbi Zelig Pliskin (1999). “Happiness: Formulas, Stories, and Insights”, p.229, Mesorah Publications

Quoting: Picture Success

We were put into this world to accomplish. Each of us has a unique mission. There are many different forms of personal achievement, just as there are different people on our planet.

Make it a regular habit to imagine yourself accomplishing what you wish to accomplish. This will motivate yourself to accomplish more. As you create these visions in your mind’s eye, you will be conditioning yourself in a way that – in reality – will lead to many positive accomplishments.

Sources: For a series of probing questions on this topic, see Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s “Gateway to Self Knowledge,” pp. 101-2

Quoting: Trust Can Lower Your Anxiety

“Bitochon” is the awareness that the Creator is running the world and all that happens is for your ultimate benefit. The more bitochon you have, the less anxiety you will experience.

When you have an internalized awareness that all that He does is for your good, you will find yourself experiencing greater degrees of inner peace and serenity.

Sources: For a series of probing questions on this topic, see Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s “Gateway to Self Knowledge,” pp.116-8

Quoting: Recognize Your Potential

Negative character traits come from discouragement. A person with faulty traits does not think of himself in elevated terms. He thinks he does not have the inner strength and potential to reach greatness. Only when a person recognizes that he has the potential to reach the most elevated levels will he strive for that!

-Sources: “Hoshlomas Hamidos,” p. 3; Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s “Gateway to Happiness,” p.116

Quoting: Fear of Disapproval

Realize that no matter what you do, you won’t obtain unanimous approval. Therefore never let the fear of disapproval of others prevent you from doing the right thing.

Lack of approval will only distress you if you allow it to. Ultimately, any emotional power anyone has over you is the power you decide to give that person.

-Sources: For a series of probing questions on this topic, see Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s “Gateway to Self Knowledge,”pp.121-5

Particularly relevant in today’s world of blogging and social media where anyone can disapprove of you for any reason. They can only control you if you let them.

Quoting: Guard Your Health

There is a Torah commandment to guard our health. High levels of stress cause many health problems. Your immune system works best when you are calm and serene. The efforts one makes to alleviate stress is the fulfillment of the Creator’s will. As our loving Father, He wants us to be well.

Viewing decreasing stress and increasing serenity as a spiritual obligation will raise this to a higher priority. Moreover, we should strive to experience joy in doing the Almighty’s will (in Hebrew this is called Simcha shel mitzvah). This adds a major dimension to the entire process.

-from Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s book, “Serenity,” p.108

Quoting: Respond to Disrespect with Dignity

Anger frequently comes from feeling that someone did not treat you with the proper respect. People tend to feel angry with someone who fails to show them the honor they think they deserve.

The solution is to contemplate how valueless honor really is.

When you react to slights to your honor with a sense of personal dignity, you gain much more than when you lose your temper. The greater your own realization that you have intrinsic worth since you are created in the image of the Almighty, the less the slights of mortals will affect you.

Sources: Maaneh Rach, Ch.6; Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s Gateway to Happiness, p. 196

Quoting: Show Them Their Potential

If someone sees himself as inferior, you can help change his attitude by seeing him now as the potentially great person he could possibly become.

-For a series of probing questions on this topic, see Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s book “Gateway to Self Knowledge,” p.218