Chapter 26- Making it Last
Being inspired is an amazing experience. Having the clarity to see what matters and what doesn’t is so empowering. But unfortunately, those feelings don’t last. Inspiration quickly fades, and it seems that we are back where we started.
When a person blows air into a balloon, the balloon expands for a short time, but then the air flies out and the balloon goes back to its original size. Similarly, our motivation seems to pump us up for just a short time, only to leave us as we were before. The clarity we had doesn’t last; though we still know that spiritual accomplishment matters the most, we can’t get ourselves to feel it. We must figure out how to make our motivation last, so we can live with the exciting perspective we seek.
Before we start, we must realize that we are not left with nothing when our motivation fades. Though it is hard to see, each time we become inspired, a little bit of the experience stays with us. Over time, our essence gradually changes, until we find that our perspective on life has changed. Our new values come alive. We begin to appreciate the significance of overcoming difficulties. This perspective gradually becomes our way of life, and even if our ability to feel it fluctuates at times, it never fades (Ohr Yisroel, Letter 10).
But this is not enough for us. We don’t want to lose our clarity on life. We want to always be energized about winning our battles, and we can’t afford to wait for it to develop. We need it to beat the yetzer hara, and he is not going to wait for us.
The way to keep our inner fire strong is to read something that gets us excited every day. This cannot be stressed enough. If we want to live motivated, we need our daily medicine. We must devote a few minutes every day to reading and thinking about our awesome opportunity. We have to dream about becoming someone special. We have to think about how badly we want to become great, and then plan how we will win our battles and get there. We must make conquering our desires one of our highest aspirations, because winning difficult battles is the pinnacle of serving Hashem. We must frequently visualize ourselves overcoming these challenges and reaching greatness. This will make these feelings an active part of us.
In addition, we must celebrate our victories every time whether they seem big or small, as Chovos Halevavos (5:5) instructs. Over time, this changes our attitude toward challenges. We develop excitement about winning difficult battles, and we identify ourselves as people working hard toward that goal. Consistently celebrating our successes makes these feelings part of us.