We have three weeks to go before we enter the period of judgment. If the reader has any fear of the days of awe and would like to increase his or her chances for a better and successful year, presumably it seems like a percentage game and we have to do whatever we can to improve our chances. It’s a well-known fact, in Psychology 101, that once a person knows the problem, that’s half the solution. Let’s clarify and expand a bit on that statement by introducing one of the classic self-improvement books in Jewish literature, Mesilat Yesharim (Path of the Just), written so eloquently by Rav Moshe Chaim Lutzato.
In his famous introduction, he writes, ‘Most of the material which is in my book, one already knows. The human mind absorbs quite a bit of information in a lifetime but it tends to shift or maybe the right word is gravitating to the back of his mind, rarely to be recognized again. The job of this book is to rediscover those important points that if it would be fresh and known in the front of our minds therefore we’ll be better prepared with those tools resulting in us being in a better position in life.’
The Mesilat Yesharim says a few chapters later, ‘It’s very important to keep a diary’. Every night one should review the positive and negative occurrences that happened to him and how he dealt with them. When something is written, there is a better chance of it remaining fresh, and comprehension of it will be easily attained. One should also keep in mind that if any of those occurrences happen again, he would be better prepared to confront the issues. A person should seek through his diary what good deed he has done on daily basis and encourage himself to increase them. When self-improvement actions are written, it causes the fresh mind to practice self-control, preventing unnecessary disastrous explosions by individuals, which could have occurred. Many times we walk on eggshells, where one wrong move, one remark said out of instinct could have a negative lasting effect. What a diary accomplishes is it creates a certain order of thoughts. There is a certain sense of control, a self-awareness of G-d and of ones brethren that is vital in making you a better person.
Rabbi Jay Shapiro says that the diary should be kept similarly to one’s business accounting ledger. If one makes sales and doesn’t write them in the ledger, he’ll be out of business in a short time.
When I first learned this concept of ‘diary’ in Mesilat Yesharim, I wasn’t impressed but I did it anyway. However, after a few months I began to see a tremendous improvement in my life; it’s worth trying!!!
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