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JANUARY 6, 2022 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
Self-Mastery Academy
You Become What You Believe By Rabbi Shmuel Reichman
H
ave you ever been scared of something simply because you’ve never done it before? I most definitely relate. Just a few weeks ago, my life changed forever. My wife and I received a tremendous blessing from Hashem: we welcomed our firstborn son into the world. About a week later, he received his name (Yosef Baruch) and his bris milah as we welcomed him into Klal Yisrael. As excited as we are to see what this beautiful neshama will become, it is a daunting new stage of life. For many of us, the fact that we’ve never done something before holds us back from even trying. But have you ever committed yourself to tackling a problem, spent the time and effort to figure it out, and then, through trial and error, eventually solved the issue? Such accomplishments create the most incredible feeling. In our previous article, we began developing strategies for overcoming our inner fears so that we
can fully unlock our potential and achieve the extraordinary. In this article, we will delve deeper into this topic and continue exploring the strategies we can use to overcome fear.
1. Believe That You Can Find the Solution There is a key decision that each of us must make at some point in our lives: we have to decide whether we are capable of figuring things out, of learning and growing, or whether we are static and incapable of improvement. Having a growth mindset – the belief that we are capable of growing, adapting, and learning – is one of the most important human beliefs. The moment we decide to have a growth mindset, an adaptability mentality, we can embrace any new challenge Hashem sends our way. Instead of seeing every challenge as another obstacle that can crush us, we realize that we can meet any obstacle and solve any problem. Will
there be uncertainty, struggle, and failure along the way? Certainly! (As a matter of fact, the one thing you can be certain of is that nothing in life is certain.) But with a growth and adaptability mindset, we can embrace the challenges and uncertainty of life and ride the difficult waves that Hashem sends our way. That’s not to say this is easy. It’s not. Figuring it out can be grueling and tiresome. But that’s the greatness of being human: we have the ability to embrace struggle and push through it, growing each step of the way. Whether it’s fixing a broken sink, learning a new skill or language, or developing a new passion, there are different avenues we can take to navigate the uncharted waters of life. The simplest option is trial and error; we can try one way, and if it doesn’t work, we can use different methods until one finally works. We can use other models of success as our inspiration and keep on practicing until we find our own version of success. The easiest way
to model success is to find a teacher or expert and have them guide you through the process. Once they teach you their path, you can practice until you are able to replicate it yourself. Nowadays, there are also videos, online courses, and books that can guide you every step of the way. Beyond this, we must also learn how to utilize our resources and resourcefulness to find other forms of help. Think about your network: who do you know who is extraordinary at what you would like to accomplish? If no one comes to mind, who do you know that might know someone who fits this description? We’re all part of an incredible web, a network of relationships. Learning how to navigate that web can provide you with the exact resources you need. While reaching out to others for help and guidance may seem like a way of relying on others to solve your problems for you, this is not necessarily the case. Unquestionably, the ideal is to develop the skills
