But life isn't like a business plan! What motivation can I use to keep from repeating mistakes in Shmirat Einayim?
"One can assess the results of his business affairs, and then try to rectify things before trouble occurs... We have the ability to learn from our mistakes. To the degree that we refuse to embrace foolishness, so will our wisdom increase." (Ohr Yisrael, Letter Four)
The consequences of business errors are clear because they cause financial loss, which is a powerful motivator. An entrepreneur makes every effort not to repeat his mistakes. "To embrace foolishness," means to make the same mistakes over and over. By refusing to do that, we become wiser.
Actually, the same rules for success apply in the Shmirat Einayim challenge. The more you know about the detrimental effects of improper images, the more motivated you will be to avoid hurting yourself. As a result, you will prepare yourself by having a plan.
Keep in mind that seeing immodest sights jeopardizes your spirituality and your ability to do mitzvot. Moreover, though it's unpleasant to think about, you have to face the fact that this pattern of aveirot will impact negatively on your eternal life in the World to Come.
Of course, these dire consequences are heavy and intimidating. But a realistic businessman squarely faces the possibility of bankruptcy should he fail to make the right decisions. In the same way, you don't want to spiritually bankrupt yourself. To be successful, you have to internalize the fact that viewing immodesty is costing you dearly in the spiritual world - the world that really counts ultimately.
What can you do? Create a plan! You can assess the downward spiral and take steps to end it with a strategy you design for yourself. Every person is different, but in general, these are the steps you should take each day before leaving home.
(1) Take a few moments to think about the prevalent practice of modern society to display improper images. Regard them as dangers that must be avoided.
(2) Think about what it will cost you spiritually should you be careless and not take precautions against these risks.
Review the four primary laws of Day 7. It will arm you against complacency and provide the guidelines you need.
As you develop sensitivity to your challenges, you will begin to identify your particular risks, and you will be able to personalize the specifics of your plan. You may need to make frequent adjustments to it. As in business, the environment is always changing, and your plan should change to accommodate new problems that arise.
Today: Remember that society bombards us with indecent images, so prepare yourself before you leave home.
On the way to my office yesterday, I inadvertently saw an indecent picture. The image lodged in my mind and I struggled with the effects all day. After lunch, I even had trouble concentrating on Birkat Hamazon.
I realized that for all my good intentions, I hadn't planned well enough to offset that particular risk. So I took a few minutes after I made my nightly 'spiritual accounting' to think about how I could have avoided it. I like to keep improving the strategies. It's like a chess game - the more I think about my next move, the better it will be.
Trying to come up with an effective strategy for avoiding pictures, I reviewed several pages of my spiritual log. I discovered that pictures are relatively rare challenges for me, but that I have a far more frequent pattern of failure right in my office building. That crowded elevator is still a problem.
So I came up with a plan. In the elevator tomorrow, I'll try to position myself behind a man and keep my eyes downward until I get to my floor, or maybe take the stairs.
When I think of this strategizing in the same light as a business plan, I'm more alert to the daily changes. A few weeks ago, my company hired a new receptionist who doesn't dress professionally. I need to come up with a plan for coping with that new circumstance.
These e-mails are excerpts taken from the book "Windows of the Soul" by Rabbi Zvi Miller of the Salant Foundation.