Chassidic Tools for Success and Achievement

MyLife Essay Contest

Following is an outline of how traditional chassidic practices associated with becoming closer to G-d, can be translated into effective tools for self-improvement in any context.

How Can Life be Properly Lived?

Are we happy? Are we living life to the fullest? What are we missing? For many of us, these are tough questions. Tough either because we struggle to solve them satisfactorily, or because we think we know the answers but continuously find success to be elusive.

We crave popularity, wealth, love and success, but all too often they remain beyond our reach. We seek to experience fun, satisfaction and happiness, only to see our efforts fail.

So many of us find our lives handicapped by the scars of dysfunctional relationships, illness, or our own shortcomings like laziness or poor self-regard. We try to silence our discomfort with empty things like entertainment, food, or worse, without ever making true progress.

Some of us keep on slipping up in certain areas until we come to define ourselves by them, labeling ourselves inherently deficient, either as a means of deflecting responsibility for failure or even attempting thereby to somehow celebrate those very flaws. Many spend years of their lives digging ever deeper into their issues in the belief that this will somehow bring them closure, often with little to show for it.

Is it possible that ‘Chassidus’ holds the key for leading more successful, accomplished, satisfying lives?

What is Chassidus?

The chassidic lifestyle is commonly regarded as a curiosity, a culture dedicated to preserving an ancient mode of behavior, uncharacteristic of even mainstream Judaism itself.

Of course, it is undeniable that Chassidus is in fact a devotional approach to serving G-d, emphasizing a strict but warm interpretation of the Torah’s laws and teachings, and demanding the loyalty and dedication of its adherents to their holy calling.

Chassidus thus appears, as religions are typically perceived, to be about trying to make G-d happy, as opposed to living the kind of life that will make us the happiest. Even some members of the chassidic community may believe that although their religiousness is important, they must address their personal problems and seek happiness elsewhere.

However, Chassidus, particularly Chabad chassidus, is really about a lot more than trying to please the Creator through obedience. To a certain degree, Chassidus took the emphasis on G-d which had previously existed in Judaism and flipped it around, turning the focus towards man and challenging him to create a relationship with G-d that was most meaningful to him, without sacrificing the discipline inherent in being observant.

To this end, Chassidus introduced a set of powerful tools designed to help transcend one’s problems and begin living a more mindful and purposeful life while preserving a great degree of individuality and autonomy.

These effective lessons and techniques can potentially be applied in a context beyond the confines of the chassidic community, and stand to bring benefit to a much wider range of people.

Tool #1: Our Flaws Don’t Define Us

Many performers experience stage fright. Even with decades of experience under their belts, some find that they can never quite shake the pre-performance jitters. But can they allow this to shake their belief in their qualities? Should they spend hours questioning whether their apprehension says something about their ability to move forward?

The healthy response is clearly to shrug the fears off and focus on doing the best job possible. It’s self-understood that this reflexive human response (whatever biological purpose it serves) is insignificant in comparison with what’s really important – the performance. Allowing the fear of an audience to wrest control of one’s internal narrative away from the actual subject at hand would prove paralyzing for anyone trying to get ahead.

Chassidus teaches that a similar model applies to practically all of the internal voices that seek to derail us. We should not be dismayed when we’re besieged by strange thoughts, embarrassing urges, painful flashbacks and challenging situations. This is an integral part of the human condition, and we aren’t meant to give it more attention than what it’s already grabbing itself. If we focus too much on our issues, it will only amplify them.

Instead of getting dragged down, we need to develop positive, healthy characteristics, creating an alternative narrative by which we can lead our daily lives in the most productive, successful way possible.

Tool #2: Developing a Life of Positivity

Chassidus sought to connect people, many of whom were rather simple individuals living ordinary lives, with the Divine. It did so with a three-pronged formula that addressed minds, hearts and actions:

A) Chassidus, particularly Chabad Chassidus, did not suffice with preaching the benefits of Chassidic ideas. It rapidly churned out a rather large theological and devotional corpus filling thousands of volumes. Similarly, the last Chabad Rebbe pioneered a lecture format where he, often weekly, would hold forth for many hours at a time, discussing a wide range of deep Torah ideas before a silent crowd of thousands.

This was not coincidental. Chassidus recognized that it would be impossible to expect the lifestyle it called for if everyone’s minds were elsewhere. By offering an engaging, challenging body of thought-provoking literature focused on the very issues it cared about, it was sending the message that the first step to moving in a certain direction is developing an intellectual passion for those or related subjects.

Although Chassidus obviously hopes to be relevant to everyone, this model can prove helpful even for those not currently exploring Chassidic thought specifically. If we wish to live better, more positive and productive lives, we can’t allow our minds to be polluted with nonsense. We need to find a body of ideas that speaks to us and which encourages the kind of life we wish to live, and develop a passion for it. If we’re walking down the street and catch our mind wandering to the subject of our choosing, we know we’re on the right track.

B) Furthermore, Chassidus laid out a vision wherein its practitioners worked on changing their emotional patterns through applying what they had studied in a personal way. When a chassid identified a theological aspect of G-d that he personally found meaningful, he was supposed to translate that into a feeling and thus develop a personal connection with G-d.

Similarly, once our minds are occupied with ideas pointing us in the right direction, we must apply them to ourselves in a personal way, challenging ourselves to develop a genuinely deep feeling and emotional passion for the positive ideals we hold dear, and allow that to transform how we relate to and experience the world on a personal level.

C) Chassidus taught that every act matters. It wasn’t enough to improve on the inside, and those thoughts and feelings needed to translate themselves into something tangible. Whether the goal was improving oneself, one’s surroundings or the entire world (related to the Jewish idea of world Redemption, or ‘Geulah’), it was crucial to see the value in acting in a positive manner, serving as further inspiration and ultimately leading to impressive results.

Likewise, we must realize that as we improve for the better and our actions change accordingly, we are creating ripple effects in our surroundings, which serves to lift everyone up and results in a cycle of positivity. The realization that our acts have meaning and we have the power to shape our own destiny and that of those around us for the better is certain to lead to a boost in satisfaction coupled with an urge to do even more.

Tool #3: The Power of Community

This is all tremendously empowering, but it’s hard to do it all on one’s own. That is why Chassidus encouraged growth both through group activity and through finding a mentor. Chassidus created a support system in the form of a ‘farbrengen’, where like-minded people joined together to offer each other encouragement and inspiration. Concurrently, identifying a ‘Rebbe’ or ‘mashpia’, an inspirational yet relatable individual who could act as a mentor and role model, was emphasized tremendously.

In order to effectively spur positive growth, we need to identify people similarly committed to growth and improvement, and network often. Instead of uniting around common problems or unimportant interests, it’s important to speak of each other’s accomplishments, get insight from people in similar situations, and leave recharged, invigorated and motivated to continue and take it to the next level.

Concurrently, we need to find an individual who is a model for who we want to be, and interact with him often. That relationship can prove invaluable in keeping one anchored, focused on the goal, and answerable to someone one respects and wouldn’t want to disappoint.

In Conclusion

Applying these effective Chassidic tools in any context will result in inner happiness, success and accomplishments, and will free us from the incessant negativity which threatens to pull us down. We will feel part of something greater, will be growing as a person, and will be able to point to actual achievements.
We can begin changing ourselves, and the world around us, today.