I decided to take the Ben Ish Chai’s advice and get in the habit of always saying that everything that God does is for the best!
Alright ladies, I am back this week to continue to talk about what I started in last weeks ariticle, The Inner Commentary Game. In short, the Ben Ish Chai explains that when Rabbi Akiva said, “everything God does is for the best,” following every misfortune that befell him on his sojourn, these statements in fact created the positive outcome that Rabbi Akiva experienced
So… I decided to take the Ben Ish Chai’s advice and get in the habit of always saying that everything that God does is for the best, and other positive statements about the things happening throughout my day. I figured, since we are all constantly running an inner commentary on life anyway, this is not really something new that i have to start in order to improve my life. It’s just putting a positive, more emuna filled spin on my already-running commentary.
It’s been a week and well….turns out this is easier said then done. I did not realize how negative so much of my inner commentary is. And it just runs on auto-pilot. As frustrations and challenges were coming up throughout each day, it was so hard to remember to say, “Everything that God does is for the best.” When I did remember, I had a hard time believing it. It was embarrassing and eye opening at the same time.
Since we are all constantly running an inner commentary on life anyway, this is not really something new that i have to start in order to improve my life!
At some point I dedided to sit down and actually write a list of positive things that I could say to myself for different scenarios that may come up throughout my day. I needed more things to say other than “just” everything God does is for the best, since it was feeling too general of a statement. And, I wanted to be better prepared for the next time a challenge comes up and I blank out on a positive commentary. I realized that right now, in the moment, I am often on negative autopilot and the easiest thing to get off of it is to have a prepared list of positive things to think and say.
This list was not so easy to complie and I am still working on it. I referred back to two main resources in order to complie it – HaSod HaGalui, by Rabbi Motta Frank and You Can Heal Your Life, by Louise Hay.
Write a list of positive things!
I am sharing the list with you here, in case you find it helpful in your own efforts to create more positive outcomes in your life.
- Feeling uninspired in the morning: “Today is a harmonious, creative and prosperous day for me. Thank You Hashem for this new day filled with brand new opportunities!”
- I have to make a decision and am feeling unsure: “I listen to my inner wisdom and intutition. Hashem is always guiding me. This too will turn out for the best.”
- I am about to see someone that usually irritates me: “I choose harmony and peace. I forgive and send love to this person. This is Hashem’s will. This interaction will be for the good.”
- I just messed up: “Every seemingly negative situation is a life lesson. Thank you Hashem for this lesson and the growth it brings me. Everything Hashem does is for the best.”
- Getting mad at myself for making a stupid mistake: “Hashem surrounds me with love and compassion. I am loving and compassionate towards myself. It’s okay to make mistakes. Mistakes is hwo we learn in life”
- Catching myself being critical of my kids: “I now let go of being critical of others and myself. I choose to look at this child through the lense of acceptance, understanding and compassion.”
- Blaming others for my problems: “Every person is Divinely sent to me to teach me something that I have to fix in myself.”
- Feeling tense about a potential investment opportunity: “I am totally open to this opportunity turning into a huge success. I send love and prosperity to this opportunity now. God is always blessing me with wonderful opportunities”
- Feeling lazy and slow: “I am efficient and relaxed. It all gets done in due time. Hashem infuses me with inspiration and the ability to move forward.”
- Anxiety about my children: “I free my children to be who they are and to learn in their own individual way. Hashem protects them and they are safe.”
Just creating this list made me feel so powerful and excited about the day! It is time to attend to our inner need for love, acceptance, understanding, emuna, connection to Hashem. When we do not take care of these, we get in the habit of feeling stuck, overwhelmed and negative and we actually create outcomes that match these feelings.
If we don’t attend to our inner needs for acceptance, connection and love, we get stuck, fearful and overwhelmed. We don’t believe in our own ability to be successful. We fall into patterns of self-judgement and distraction.
