Develop the habit of repeating, “This, too, will increase my patience.”
How often will you say this? The more impatient you are when you start this process, the more frequently you will find this beneficial. The problem itself will be the source of the solution.
-from Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s book “Patience,”
Courage is only courage when it is connected to wisdom. It is immature to risk one’s life or health for fun or thrills. Not only is this immature, it is dumb. The Sages ask: “Who is a wise person? One who foresees the outcome.” (Talmud – Tamid 32a)
Driving a car at speeds high above the speed limit because one enjoys the feeling, is stupid. Climbing in dangerous places when one doesn’t have a valid need isn’t courage, but foolhardy. Walking in dangerous places just to prove to others that one is brave is reckless.
Life is too precious to waste it with illusory courage.
-from Rabbi Pliskin’s book, “Courage — Formulas, Stories, and Insights”
The tests and challenges that come to a person from the Almighty are so concealed and subtle the person being tested usually does not feel what is happening to him is a test. If he is aware it is just a test, he would definitely be able to withstand the difficulties and rise to the challenge, but then the test would not be a real test. Therefore, tests are concealed in such a manner that a person thinks they are merely obstacles and nuisances. A person who withstands such tests is truly elevated.
Sources: Tehilas yoel, p.190;Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s Gateway to Happiness, p.235
God’s acceptance of our commitment to correct (“teshuva”) is a miracle greater than all other miracles.
The requirements of teshuva are: regret for what one has done wrong in the past, and resolve to improve in the future.
To the degree a person is aware of his wrongdoings and feels pain for what he has done, to that same degree his teshuva is of greater value. The essential thing is to feel extreme joy for the miracle of teshuva, and to praise the Almighty for this good fortune.
Sources: Rabbi Moshe Chevroni; Masaas Moshe, p.65; Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s Gateway to Happiness, p.228
Would you like to become an expert on how to be calm in all sorts of challenging situations? Do not just rely on your own ingenuity. Keep asking people who appear to be calm, “Would you mind if I ask you how you are able to be so calm?” Most people will happily share their thoughts on the subject with you.
-from Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s book, Serenity, p.72
When you are not yet ready to take action, visualize yourself taking the action that you would really like to do. This way even though you are not in a frame of mind to actually take the specific action, you are mentally preparing yourself.
Your mental pictures will make it easier for you to take action. When you run pictures of yourself doing the things that you want to do, this mental rehearsal will shorten the amount of time it takes to build up your willingness to act.
Mentally picturing yourself taking action will help you overcome the resistance you are feeling. Anything we’ve successfully done in real life makes it more likely that we will take that action again. Anything that we’ve visualized doing is stored in our brain as if we actually took that action.
-from Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s book: “Taking Action” – page 101
When your first reaction is not to take the action that you really want to do, ask yourself, “Who do I know has a positive attitude about taking action? Now let me borrow his mind, as it were. Let me borrow his brain in my own unique way.” Make yourself feel the way you imagine he feels about the situation and task at hand.
On a screen in your mind, see this person taking action with zrizus. Now on the same screen, see yourself taking action in a similar way. Run through that picture over and over again.
-from Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s book: “Taking Action” – page 95.
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
Ambition can be powerful. Ambition helps a person mobilize his resources. Ambition enables someone to face challenges and persist. Ambition prevents a person from giving up.
A person with a high degree of ambition will be able to accomplish much more than someone with similar intelligence and skills but without ambition.
Ambition enables a person to overcome laziness and a tendency to procrastinate. When you have an authentic ambition to excel in a certain area, you will put in the necessary time and energy to gain the knowledge. You will have the energy to practice the skill you want to perfect.
Ambition helps you overcome potential obstacles that might get in the way. The stronger your ambition, the less any obstacle can deter you from proceeding.
-from Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s book: “Taking Action” – pages 86-7
Positive thoughts add to your vitality and energy. Worry and other negative thoughts take away your energy. Be aware of what thoughts you would be wise to increase and what thoughts you should decrease or even eliminate.
-from Rabbi Zelig Pliskin’s book: “Taking Action” – page 84
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