With Rosh Hashanah 27 days away, it is an important time to reflect on the work of change. Realistically, one should not treat growth and change like most of us treat tests, a time to cram and get it over with. Rather, one should regularly be in a place of self-improvement so as to have times in which to ramp up the process a bit, such as during this auspicious time leading to a new demarcation, a new year, a New Beginning.
As most of you who have been reading this blog have noticed, much of what I emphasize is incremental growth, small steps, the importance of acknowledging the gains along the path, and other modalities of fostering long term success. I recognize that these ideas can and are difficult. First, we have to begin the journey, which, as which I described in my previous post, is the hardest step. Once we do that, we then have the difficulty of maintaining and taking more steps. This isn’t easy, though if we recognize the accomplishment of the initial step, perhaps we can find the strength to continue along.
I myself continue to consciously work on these approaches in my own growth work, and struggle with the ups and downs that inevitably do come into play when travelling along the waves of life. Yet, if we try to just leap from the bottom to the top, most likely we will just fall right back down. If we put one foot in front of the other, walking or climbing one step at a time, we can always stop on the landing along the way to catch our breath, take stock and reflect on the step we have arrived at before continued “upward.”
Recently, a client sent me an article that struck me as highlighting this point about perspective when things seem challenging. The author, Binyomin Yudin, describes two situations, one logistics, one self-care focused in which to do “right” he had to the hard thing. At the end of his piece, he reflected on the following:
It was during one of these four-mile walks that Rav Steinman’s words came to mind. Walking up a grueling hill near my office, I was getting fairly aggravated, thinking about all of my friends who don’t have to do this, who can eat what they want without worrying about the impact of their choices on their lifespans. As I crested this hill, however, I realized that this was the quintessential example of Rav Steinman’s lesson. I had sweat running down my face; the exercise was clearly tirchah. Just as clearly, though, it was the right thing to do.
“We can do hard things.” Living the life you want to live and being the person you want to be demands hard work, I reminded myself, with Rav Steinman’s words echoing in my ears: “I’ve found that doing the right thing often takes tirchah.”
In this month of Elul, 5782, as we desire to work towards striving to be the person we wish we could be, we should remember, that with growth comes regular work, daily ritual and routine, challenges and moments of needing to foster our drive for continued successes along the way.
Need support as you work on the difficult task of self improvement and growth: Contact New Beginnings Spiritual Coaching and Consulting LLC at 732-314-6758 ext. 100 or via email at newbeginningsspiritualcoach@gmail.com.
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