061 Tanya Shvat 20 ~ M070 Adar I 1
Questions for today:
What stops me from reaching my potential? Is it my flaws, or is it the fact that I focus on my flaws and drag myself down?
A fellow is eating with a friend in an expensive restaurant, and his friend starts coughing and spitting. He tells his friend, “your manners are horrible,” and his friend responds, “I know and it kills me!” The fellow gives his friend the number of a great therapist that he can reach out to for assistance.
Two years later, his friend tells him that he was cured and they decide to meet again in the fancy restaurant. To the fellow’s great surprise, the friend begins to spit and cough again.
The fellow asks his friend what prompted him to think that he was cured, and the friend replies, “I know that I still have terrible manners, but now it does’t bother me.”
This story sounds funny, however there is a lesson. I am here in Israel, the best example of, “it's not the size of the man in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the man”.
We learn in the Tanya that we can all be victorious in each of our challenges - but we have to be happy, proud, and confident in order to win. If we are depressed, we will lose every battle.
This does not mean that there are never times for us to be introverted and serious about our flaws. There are times for this, but these times are only productive when the self-critique accomplishes something, and we are happy afterwards.
Tanya book 1, ch26 pt 1
It's not the size of the man in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the man.
After learning a method to consistently overcome our inner challenges, we tackle another internal opponent: depression
Study today’s Tanya in full:
https://www.chabadmed.com/dailystudy/tanya.asp?tdate=2/2/2022
See today’s video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-1BuzVvuoY&list=PLFZQPK6u-zSBls9Hwx3P5vKI_BRnjBvHe&index=62