Growth
One reason growth is so inspiring is that it can be felt right now, unlike reward in the next world, which sometimes seems a million years away. Further, we don’t naturally feel the eternal reward so tangibly, even though we know it is true. Thus, it takes work to turn it into a powerful motivator. We have a hard time relating to it, even though we know it’s amazing, because we have little frame of reference to understand it. And we hopefully won’t experience it for a long time. But it is easy
to get excited about how we are growing, reaching greatness, and accomplishing phenomenally.
Feeling great about where we are headed is an exhilarating experience that can’t be matched. It’s thrilling to be able to say, “I am growing! Every second I hold myself back from looking at what is forbidden, every inappropriate thought I stop thinking about, and every time I fight back in my mind against my desires, I am coming closer to the person I want to be, a person I will be proud of being forever! With each action and every bit of effort, I am growing! I am better and stronger now than I was five minutes ago!” Growth is one of the most exciting experiences in life. Feeling good about your direction is priceless.
We were put here to take the situation we were given and grow as people. The point of life is not to never mess up, though of course we must win every battle we can. If we have the wrong perspective, we will get frustrated whenever we face a challenge or when it is hard to achieve our goals. But once we realize that Hashem created us with flaws and challenges because the point of life is to grow and accomplish despite them, we will taste the excitement of life! We will realize that we can be incredibly successful in the true measure of spiritual accomplishment, and we will start growing in all areas. This excitement can carry us to achieve many impressive accomplishments because we will want to act that way. Life is an exciting
opportunity, not a chore. Let’s realize that and we will rejoice and accomplish!