Dear Friends,
You’re Not Arrogant, But Are You Truly Humble?
Increasing our humility will have wide ranging beneficial effects.
Have a great week,
Yaakov
Saturday, April 29, 2017
Saturday, April 22, 2017
Iyar: Enhancing Our Relationships
Dear Friends,
This post is about the Jewish month of Iyar, as it relates to The Chazak Plan: A 12 Month Journey to Spiritual Strength.
Rosh Chodesh Iyar begins Tuesday night, the 25th of April, and lasts for two days.
The period known as The Omer occurs during this month. During part of The Omer, we commemorate thousands of Rabbi Akiva’s students who died in a plague. The Talmud teaches that the plague occurred because the students did not treat each other with proper respect.
This month, we focus on treating others well and enhancing our relationship with them.
Our relationships play a pivotal role in either enhancing or negatively affecting our emotional, physical and spiritual health; toxic relationships drain us, while healthy relationships nourish us.
Make a list of your key family, work and social relationships. Decide which ones to strengthen or repair, which ones need better boundaries or for you to distance yourself from, and ways to foster new healthy relationships.
Input into your checklist the following practice or a related one: At least once a week, schedule one-on-one time with someone in your life to strengthen that relationship; shut off your cell and give him or her your undivided attention.
In addition, this month, work on being less critical of others. Start by focusing on the person of whom you are most critical. Consider using your checklist and check off each day you were able to avoid criticizing them. You might want to start off with just avoiding being critical during a set time of day, i.e., morning, afternoon or evening, and build from there.
Questions for the month:
“Which of my relationships do I need to strengthen? What is the first step to doing that?”
“Which relationships need better boundaries or for me to distance myself from? What is the first step to doing that?”
“Do I want to form new healthy relationships? What are some ways I can do that?”
“Which person in my life am I most critical of? For this month, am I willing to commit to give them
at least as much compliments as criticisms?”
Related Article:
6 Ways to Kick the Criticism Habit
Take care and may God grant us success in the coming month,
Yaakov
This post is about the Jewish month of Iyar, as it relates to The Chazak Plan: A 12 Month Journey to Spiritual Strength.
Rosh Chodesh Iyar begins Tuesday night, the 25th of April, and lasts for two days.
The period known as The Omer occurs during this month. During part of The Omer, we commemorate thousands of Rabbi Akiva’s students who died in a plague. The Talmud teaches that the plague occurred because the students did not treat each other with proper respect.
This month, we focus on treating others well and enhancing our relationship with them.
Our relationships play a pivotal role in either enhancing or negatively affecting our emotional, physical and spiritual health; toxic relationships drain us, while healthy relationships nourish us.
Make a list of your key family, work and social relationships. Decide which ones to strengthen or repair, which ones need better boundaries or for you to distance yourself from, and ways to foster new healthy relationships.
Input into your checklist the following practice or a related one: At least once a week, schedule one-on-one time with someone in your life to strengthen that relationship; shut off your cell and give him or her your undivided attention.
In addition, this month, work on being less critical of others. Start by focusing on the person of whom you are most critical. Consider using your checklist and check off each day you were able to avoid criticizing them. You might want to start off with just avoiding being critical during a set time of day, i.e., morning, afternoon or evening, and build from there.
Questions for the month:
“Which of my relationships do I need to strengthen? What is the first step to doing that?”
“Which relationships need better boundaries or for me to distance myself from? What is the first step to doing that?”
“Do I want to form new healthy relationships? What are some ways I can do that?”
“Which person in my life am I most critical of? For this month, am I willing to commit to give them
at least as much compliments as criticisms?”
Related Article:
6 Ways to Kick the Criticism Habit
Take care and may God grant us success in the coming month,
Yaakov
Saturday, April 8, 2017
What Worked for Our Ancestors: 4 Lessons from the Exodus
Dear Friends,
Passover begins Monday night, April 10th. During the Seder, we will recount the story of the Exodus. Here are 4 lessons we can learn from it.
What Worked for Our Ancestors: 4 Lessons from the Exodus
Next Sunday, during Passover, there will be no blog post.
Happy Passover, Chag Kasher Vesameach,
Yaakov
Passover begins Monday night, April 10th. During the Seder, we will recount the story of the Exodus. Here are 4 lessons we can learn from it.
What Worked for Our Ancestors: 4 Lessons from the Exodus
Next Sunday, during Passover, there will be no blog post.
Happy Passover, Chag Kasher Vesameach,
Yaakov
Monday, April 3, 2017
“I Tried. I Failed. Now What?” 10 Ways to Get Back in the Game
When the realization hits that we failed in some way, it hurts badly. We are left nursing our wounds and wonder, “What do I do now?”
The good news is that no matter how big the failure, others have failed even more miserably. Some failures have led to people no longer being alive and able to try again. Not us. We are still alive, and the possibility for repair and future success is still within reach, as Rebbe Nachman of Breslov said, “If you believe you can damage, then believe you can repair.”
10 ways to get back in the game:
The good news is that no matter how big the failure, others have failed even more miserably. Some failures have led to people no longer being alive and able to try again. Not us. We are still alive, and the possibility for repair and future success is still within reach, as Rebbe Nachman of Breslov said, “If you believe you can damage, then believe you can repair.”
10 ways to get back in the game:
Saturday, April 1, 2017
4 Ways to Safeguard Your Moral Purity
Dear Friends,
Here are some ideas on how to engage in spiritual spring cleaning and elevate our purity.
King Solomon taught (Proverbs 4:23), “More than you guard anything, guard your heart…”
4 Ways to Safeguard Your Moral Purity
Have a great week,
Yaakov
Here are some ideas on how to engage in spiritual spring cleaning and elevate our purity.
King Solomon taught (Proverbs 4:23), “More than you guard anything, guard your heart…”
4 Ways to Safeguard Your Moral Purity
Have a great week,
Yaakov
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