It is entirely possible that by now your optimistic New Years resolutions have met harsh reality. Although not the Jewish New Year, January 1st is recognized my billions of people around the world as a milestone, a new beginning. And if it motivates us to make positive changes, that can't be a bad thing.
But what to do when the plans go awry? How do we still hold our head high when we feel like a failure?
Sounds like a big question but it's not. It's a simple question with a simple answer: How do we avoid feeling like a failure when we are not successful? We don't feel like a failure. Make sure not to feel like a failure and you won't be one.
What does that mean? Don't feel like a failure and you won't be one. Nice. Semantics are always fun but they don't really solve the problem.
Read the rest of this email because today I am sharing with you a true secret that will lead you to happiness. To introduce the idea I have to share with you something related to this week's Torah portion. In the Torah portion this week we learn about the passing of our father Jacob, the third of the forefathers of the Jewish people. Although his name was Jacob, he was also known by another name, Israel. (Yes, that's where the name of the country comes from too).
He wasn't given that name at his brit, the name was given to him by an angel. Yes, an angel - with whom Jacob had wrestled. Yes, Jacob and the angel of Esau wrestled all night - with neither one prevailing. When dawn broke the angel wanted to leave but Jacob refused to let it go until it blessed him. That's when he was given the name Israel.
In our lives too we face challenges, wrestling matches if you will; we don't always come out on top but we must always get a blessing. Every experience - even negative ones - can provide blessings in our life. If we allow ourselves to learn and grow from every experience we will never view ourselves as failures, rather we'll see ourselves as we truly are: blessed.