Daily Lift by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin

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Determination to be Joyful Today

We live one day at a time. To make joy easier to attain, decide to be joyful just for today. Tomorrow you can be determined to make that day joyful. But today you only need to decide for today.

Everyone would like to be joyful, but not everyone is willing to do all that they could to actually create daily joy. In general, the more determined you are to reach a goal, the more time and effort you are willing to invest. Since you are reading this book, you are already showing a strong interest in increasing your joy.

Some people argue, “I’m just not the determined type. I start many things but don’t follow through. If something seems like too much effort, I give up right at the beginning.”

When something is truly important to you, you will have much more determination than usual. This is especially true when you greatly enjoy doing what you are determined to do.

(from Rabbi Pliskin's new book, Life is Now: Creating moments of joy, courage, kindness, and serenity, pp. 119-20)

See Rabbi Pliskin's new book "Life Is Now"

pk

[Guest]

Yep

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Treat All Human Beings With Respect

We have an obligation to treat all human beings with the highest level of respect. Our politeness should spring from an awareness that we are all created in the image of God.

Today, think of someone you don't treat with the respect that you know you should. The next time you interact with that person, go out of your way to treat him or her with the respect due to someone created in the image of God.

(see Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler - Michtav MaiEliyahu, vol.4, pp.246-7; Rabbi Pliskin's "Consulting the Wise")

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Joyful For Being Alive

When I suggest that people choose to be joyful in any present moment, some people argue, “If nothing special is happening, how can I just choose to be joyful? It won’t be real joy.”

People who win a major lottery prize are able to celebrate because they think this prize will give them happiness. Being alive is the ultimate thing to celebrate. As long as you are alive, so many options are open to you.

Developing the ability to choose to be joyful just because you are alive is a skill like any other skill. When you practice enough times, you will experience it on a biochemical and neurological level.

pk

[phkrause]

I believe so dgrimm

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Just Do It

There are many things that we should do, but we procrastinate. We delay taking action. Doing nothing is often much easier then taking action. What can you say to get yourself moving? You can say, "Just do it."

Sometimes we really have a good reason or reasons for hesitating. Deep down we may feel that it's better for us not to take the action we're postponing. But we aren't yet clear about the entire matter. If you have an intuitive feeling that it might be unwise to take action, then wait. Think it over some more. Consult others.

But when you know that you or others will benefit if you take action and you don't have a valid reason for procrastinating, tell yourself, "Just do it."

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Right this moment, there are a multitude of people all around the planet involved in serving you. Many of them you will never meet in person, but you will benefit greatly from their activities. There are farmers who are planting and harvesting for you. There are people in the clothing industry who are weaving the cloth and designing clothing you will eventually wear. There are trucks, boats, and planes that are shipping the food you will eat, the clothes you will wear, and many other items that you will buy or use. There are people who are involved in making certain that you have water, electricity, phone service, and books. The postal authorities are busy at work delivering the letters you sent and bringing you mail that others have sent you. There are inventors who are working day and night on items that will one day be yours. There are engineers, mechanics, and a wide variety of laborers all around the globe who toil for your benefit. There are medical researchers working to find cures for illness that might one day save your life. Whenever you see a large crowd of people, it is a reminder to be grateful to all of those who are involved in one way or another in enhancing the quality of your life.

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Just Keep Silent

Sometimes we know that saying something will make a situation worse. We can tell ourselves to, "Just keep silent." If we feel tempted to speak negatively about someone, we can strengthen our resolve not to say it by telling ourselves, "Just keep silent."

The more difficult it is to keep silent, the greater the resulting spiritual elevation. When you tell yourself, "Just keep silent," your silence isn't just a passive state of being. Rather, it is an act of remaining silent.

In Tehillim (Psalms 34), King David tells us: "Who is the person who wants life and loves days that he may see good? Guard your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit." Remaining silent instead of speaking against others enhances and lengthens life.

(from Rabbi Zelig Pliskin's book: "Conversations With Yourself", p.145) [Artscroll.com])

pk

[oldsailor29]

PKRAUSE

THE bible tell us in ECCLESIASTES chap 3

that there is a time to speak up and a time to

keep silent

Lord helps us to know the difference

dgrimm60

it is usually a good time to laugh, so if you know of something funny, feel free to share it.

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Just Five Minutes

Sometimes when we want to study, we find it difficult to keep our focus on the topic at hand. But telling yourself, Just five minutes," will probably extend your focus for the next five minutes. You might then decide to study for "just (another) five minutes." These five-minute segments can be renewed as often as you choose.

There are many tasks that might need your attention, but you don't feel like doing them. However, you could find it relatively easy to take action for only five minutes. "Just five minutes" will enable you to do many things that you would otherwise neglect. Variations of this theme are: "Just ten minutes." "Just thirty minutes." "Just one hour."

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Joyful Breathing

As you read this sentence, you are breathing. Throughout the entire day today you will be breathing.

The Sages have taught us to be grateful for each and every breath. This is based on the last verse of Tehillim

(Psalms) that says our entire soul should praise the Almighty. The Hebrew word for soul is neshamah, which is similar to the Hebrew word neshimah, breath.

The more frequently you focus on your appreciation and gratitude for each breath, the greater will be your sense of daily gratitude. You can easily add the word “joy” into your new habitual practice.

Since every breath you take is always in the present moment, focusing on gratitude for a breath will also focus your mind on the present moment. This is especially important when you are worrying about the future or being upset about something in the past.

Right now you are still breathing. Great! Now say, “I am joyfully grateful for each and every breath.”

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Yes dgrimm, like the Bible says, the Breathe is life.

pk

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Advance Your Thinking

"How do I change the focus of my brain?" is a common question that people ask. "I tend to think of the negative. I worry a lot. My brain focuses way too much on thoughts that aren't conducive to happiness. How can I stop thinking about what I don't want to think about?"

A powerful tool that will help your brain move to the type of thoughts that you wish for is to tell it: "NEXT!" Then your brain will joyfully move on to another picture, idea, song, series of words, thoughts, imaginary scenes, visualizations, and anything else that brains like to do. Your brain can choose from an enormous amount of material that it already has stored in its immense library.

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Just Once

There are many positive and beneficial things that we know we should do, but we may feel that continuing to do them will be too difficult. "How can I keep being this way all the time?" we ask ourselves.

Telling ourselves, "Just once," can help us start. After we do something positive once, we begin to build up momentum; it becomes easier than we had assumed to keep doing the positive action more frequently.

Doing a worthwhile action "just once" doesn't seem so daunting. The next time it comes up, say you'll do it "just once" again. Even if it truly is difficult, since we only have to motivate ourselves "just once," right now, we can build up our level of inspiration and motivation.

Think of something that you would want to do but also consider difficult to repeat. At the next opportunity, start by taking action "just once." If you're having difficulty thinking of something to do "just once," keep thinking until you find an area to apply the power of "Just once."

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Just Pause

Being impulsive causes many mistakes and errors. Doing things impulsively will cause loss, damage, and harm. Saying things impulsively will cause you to say things better left unsaid. Thinking before you speak will enable you to think of the best way to say something. Thinking before you take action will enable you to consider whether you should do something, and how to do it if you should.

The two words that will remind you to stop and think are, "Just pause." As you pause, think to yourself, "What is the wisest thing for me to say and do now?"

Practice building the association in your mind between, "Just pause," and, "What is the wisest thing for me to say and do now?" How do you build the association? It's quite easy. You just repeat these two sentences together a number of times. Repeat them with an upbeat tone of voice, or sing them with your own tune. Enjoy the process. This way you will access positive feelings when you recall this association in "real life."

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Just Say It

Imagine feeling uncomfortable about saying something important, valuable, or beneficial, even when you know it would be best to say it. You should tell yourself, "Just say it." Think of a role model who is able to "just say it" at the right time. It might help you to imagine being that person to get yourself to "just say it."

If you have a valid reason for not saying something, don't say it. If you feel that it would be wrong to say something, don't say it. If your words will cause unnecessary distress, don't say them.

Some people find it difficult to convey positive feedback and praise. They can say to themselves, "Just say it."

Some people are not as outgoing and outspoken as they would like to be. They should tell themselves, "Just say it."

The more you say what you should say, the easier it will become for you to "just say it."

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Emotional Understanding

In your dealings with other people, do not relate to them only with cold logic. Rather take their emotions and individual personalities into consideration.

These few words can take a lifetime to master. Speaking logically is generally straight and simple. But understanding the unique personalities and emotions of human beings is much more complex.

As a practical tool, focus on those who interact with you in an understanding, caring way. Learn from them

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Daily Joy Journal

One of the most effective ways to recall your daily moments of joy is to keep a daily joy journal.

Every day, write down at least a few of your joyful moments. These can be events and situations when you experienced high levels of joy or when you felt sparks of joy. If you do not record them in your journal, these joyful might be easily forgotten. Since you are focusing on creating joyful moments, you will notice them and remember them because you listed them in your joy journal.

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Favorite Memories

If you would like to recall your favorite memories, here are some questions to ask yourself:

1. What are five of my favorite memories?

2. How do I feel when I remember them?

3. What are the main patterns of my favorite memories?

4. In what ways will I benefit from recalling these memories more often?

5. When is a good time to recall each of these memories?

6. What can I learn from these memories?

7. What do I lose out by not recalling my favorite memories?

8. What will help me remember to recall my favorite memories more often?

9. What can I do now to create more memories that I would benefit from recalling?

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Unique Joyful Moments

Every living person is unique, from his genetic makeup to his personal history. Since you are unique, your past and future moments of joy will be unique to you. You have your own unique style of joy in the present, too.

Some people think about the joy of other people. Then they say, “I’m just not a joyful person. I’m not as outgoing and friendly as some joyful people. I would feel strange to act like some of the joyful people I’ve seen.” Realize that you only need to experience joy in your unique way.

Some extroverts are joyful and some are not. Some introverts are joyful and some are not. Some loud people are joyful and some quiet people are joyful.

Anyone who isn’t joyful right now can choose and decide to create more joy in his own unique way.

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Joy While Praying

The Talmud (Brachot 31a) states that when praying it is important not to be in any state of sadness. There is no contradiction between seriousness, which is an obligation during prayer, and joy. On the contrary, they go hand in hand when a person stands in prayer before the Almighty.

pk

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

I don't think God minds when we pray to Him when we're sad.

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I agree with you rudywoofs.

pk

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Take a Joy Walk

Walking is one of the healthiest and simplest exercises.

When you walk briskly, you breathe more deeply and your mind clears. Your brain produces healthy biochemicals that make you feel better and enable you to think with greater clarity. Walking stimulates creativity, and you might think of better ways to reach goals. Many people take walks to come up with solutions to challenges.

You can utilize your walking time to increase your level of joy. As you walk briskly, repeat to yourself, “With each and every step, I am feeling more and more joy. With each and every step, I am feeling more and more joy. With each and every step, I am feeling more and more joy.”

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Worth Repeating

"Serve the Almighty with joy, come before Him with singing" (Psalms 100:2).

The verse is recited daily in the morning prayers. But we have to internalize its message. Repeat this verse as often as possible, while thinking about what it means and how you can apply it.

This is especially important for a person with a tendency towards sadness. A sad person mentally repeats hundreds of sad messages a day. Repeating a verse with a positive, joyous message will serve as a good counter-balance.

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