Personal Growth

 “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.”

Thomas Jefferson.

During the Hebrew month of Elul, our Rabbi sends out a daily message.

Yesterday's message struck a chord with me.

He shared a story and then this quote from Leo Tolstoy;

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”

Rarely has a truer statement ever been made.

A number of years ago, I made personal growth a priority in my life.

I started reading as much as I could from a number of different leaders in this field.

Not so coincidentally, it was also when I began writing.

I read books, listened to audio books, subscribed to magazines and followed the best of the best on social media.

I even began developing my meditation practice, dedicating myself to a daily routine.

It was a marvelously transformative time for me.

and then, just like that, I stopped.

I stopped reading, listening, meditating and eventually even writing.

I can't tell you why, I just did.

I knew better than to let that happen.

Still, one by one, these good practices all went by the wayside.

Again, not so coincidentally, a couple of pounds came back.

And then a couple more.

And a couple more.

I still wanted to change the world.

I still was searching for how I could leave my significant mark on this orb before I was done.

But somehow, I stopped doing the work on myself .

The work that is the gateway to all good things in my life.

"Most people want to change the world to improve their lives, but the world they need to change first is the one inside themselves." 

Rabbi Benjamin Blech

I'm grateful that I have once again begun to write.

As we all know, the Journey begins with 1 single step.