From Curses to Blessings: The Power of Mindset Shifts

The Power of Mindset Shifts

In Parshat Ki Savo, the Torah describes the blessings that will come if the people follow the Mitzvot, and the curses if they stray from the path. 

There is something deeper here, a practical lesson. The Torah is not just a rule book, do this or be punished, do this and be rewarded. There is life advice here. If you make a choice then that choice will lead to certain ramifications. If you go right you end up in place A and if you go left you will end up in place B. Is ending up in place A or B a punishment or is it an outcome of your choice? 

When we choose to be successful, we are choosing to take a path that will require a list of steps, a set of processes that will allow us to arrive where we want to go. Sometimes it seems difficult or demanding and it's hard to continue along that path so we need to remind ourselves of the ultimate goal. Why am I on this path? What am I attempting to achieve here? We must remind ourselves and this will help to motivate us through the challenging steps along the way.

The choices individuals make in their lives can either lead to success (blessings) or challenges (curses).

This also applies in our mindset choices and the outcomes we experience. The “blessings” represent the positive outcomes that arise from disciplined actions, self-belief, and consistent effort. The "curses," on the other hand, can be viewed as the limiting beliefs and negative habits that hold us back.

Some Actionable Insights:  

1. Self-Reflection: Try to reflect in which areas of your life you may be experiencing "curses" or setbacks. Often, these difficulties stem from certain negative mindsets or habits. How can you change course in your thinking to move away from the negative thinking and be more positive? 

   
   

2. Identify the ‘Blessings’ Path: One way might be, to be less judgmental of yourself. Don't pass judgment or go down the rabbit hole of guilt. Acknowledge the damage, feel remorse and commit to improve. What can i now do to be more positive? Focus on taking positive action towards your goals

   
   

3. Once we get some practice in recognising our mindset and choice making, we can progress to the next level where we develop the power to choose our response to challenges. Choosing a growth mindset and proactive behavior can help transform what we originally perceived as curses into opportunities for growth.

Once you start to be more aware and realise that you can turn your curses into blessings through intentional action and mindset shifts. You will understand that you hold the key to your own success and fulfillment.

Here's an exercise to try:  

- List an area of life where you feel "cursed" or stuck.

- Identify one small, actionable change that aligns with a "blessing" mindset. 

- Commit to this change for the week and reflect on any shifts in perception or results.

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About the author:

Elimelech Levy is a Rabbi and Coach in Sydney Australia where he runs Chabad Youth NSW, an organisation that's focused on Providing Jewish enrichment that's educational, fun, social ​& affordable. Elimelech received his MBA from Macquarie University in 2021 then chose to use his studies and experience to become a Results Coach and member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF)  helping people take control of their lives through establishing goals and working towards them. In 2023, Elimelech established the Knei Lecha Chover program focused on matching Rabbis around the world and providing foundational tools for them to coach each other regularly avoiding significant fees needed for professional coaching sessions.

Elimelech can be reached via his website elilevy.com.au 

Conquering our Demons

Conquering our Demons

Conquering our Demons - When you will go out to war on your enemies!

We have many kinds of enemies and some of them live right inside ourselves! That's right, ever heard of the saying, you are your own worst enemy or self sabotage, well most of us are guilty of this, some more than others but Michael Drayton quotes Sigmund Freud speaking about the self saboteur, that part inside us that is scared and wants to stop us from taking those steps towards our goals because we are entering the unknown so it tries to hold us back or for other self preservation fears. 

Comes along the Torah in this weeks portion of Ki Tzetze to say that one must go out against their enemies, it's not a question of if but when. When you will go out against your enemies. 

One way I have found that can really help is by having a coaching buddie. We set up this program for Chabad Rabbis across the globe called Knei Lecha Chaver. Words from the Mishneh written some 2000 years ago that says acquire for yourself a friend. Find a friend who you can work with and create a process where you take turns coaching each other. 

Ultimately, coaching is about asking questions and helping the coachee hear the question and articulate their answers. As they are formulating their response their mind is creating the solution to their very own problem but sometimes it takes someone else asking the question for the response to be expressed instead of staying as untapped potential in the problem seeker's own brain. 

It's crazy how this works but it does and the proof is, if you have a problem that you find hard to answer but then your friend comes and tells you of the exact same problem in their life, you will most likely come up with a solution because your brain goes into problem solving mode instead of self pity or despair mode which is why it's so important to stay positive and optimistic so changing into that mindset of problem solving is much easier when in a positive mood. Jordan Peterson in his 12 rules for life says look after yourself like you were looking after someone else. Perhaps this is the reason why. We seem to have all the answers for everyone else except ourselves because we are already telling ourselves that these solutions won't work in our particular circumstances because of xyz.. For someone else our self saboteur is not as triggered though it can come up then as well.

So try it. Find someone to pair up with and try it out. In week one, you be the coach and they become the coachee, you do the question asking and they give the answers and the following week you reverse the rolls and you become the coachee and they the coach. This way you provide each other with value and you are both invested in each other.

The trick is to be curious and consistent and not let the saboteur stop your momentum.

Also, be respectful and confidential - agree between yourselves that whatever is shared between you stays between you. 

Best of luck and let me know how it goes.

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About the author:

Elimelech Levy is a Rabbi and Coach in Sydney Australia where he runs Chabad Youth NSW, an organisation that's focused on Providing Jewish enrichment that's educational, fun, social ​& affordable. Elimelech received his MBA from Macquarie University in 2021 then chose to use his studies and experience to become a Results Coach and member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF)  helping people take control of their lives through establishing goals and working towards them. In 2023, Elimelech established the Knei Lecha Chover program focused on matching Rabbis around the world and providing foundational tools for them to coach each other regularly avoiding significant fees needed for professional coaching sessions.

Elimelech can be reached via his website elilevy.com.au  

Achieving Results

Shoftim - 6 September 2024

Achieving Results

A key to achieving results is to have a system to work within. In Parshas Shoftim, the Torah speaks about having Judges and police / enforcers to maintain justice. It's not enough to just come up with a good plan for life, you need to have a system of how to enforce the plan you have set to achieve those goals 

We speak about setting SMART Goals* - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound If you want to be able to reach your goals, you need to be serious about them. 

1. Make your goal very specific. Sometimes we know we need to grow so we commit to a vague goal of growth without specifying what that growth will look like. We need to be more specific so we can know when we are getting close to achieving the goal otherwise the goal post can move depending on your mood and interpretation at the time.

2. How will you know if you have achieved your goal? In addition to specifying what the goal is, we need to ensure that it can be measured in some form. ie . I will lose 3 kg of weight 

3. We need to ensure that our goals are achievable and not too far off from reality that we can never get there. Of course they should be ambitious but at the same time they need to be something you can do and have access to the resources to do it and once you reach that goal or come close to it, you can redefine the goal to increase your growth level.

4. It's also important that the goals we choose are relevant to our value system and will mean something to us once we achieve them. How will I feel or be different if I achieve my goals? What difference will it make in my life and for those around me?

5. We must also place a time frame into the aquasion. If we don't have some level of urgency, it could never happen. One must set a time line ie. Over the next 3 months I will lose 3kg of fat by bringing down my calories to 1800 per day and going to the gym 3 times a week.

In addition, having someone else help you reach your goals is also very helpful. It can be with a coach or a coaching buddy. A partner who can help hold you accountable to your goals, your own personal policeman/women who can help you to maintain your justice.

Best of luck with setting your next goals.

In the next post we can talk about a coaching buddy system that can help to keep you more accountable and bring more purpose into our lives by helping others and ourselves 

Stay tuned and good luck!

About the author:

Elimelech Levy is a Rabbi and Coach in Sydney Australia where he runs Chabad Youth NSW, an organisation that's focused on Providing Jewish enrichment that's educational, fun, social ​& affordable. Elimelech received his MBA from Macquarie University in 2021 then chose to use his studies and experience to become a Results Coach and member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF)  helping people take control of their lives through establishing goals and working towards them. In 2023, Elimelech established the Knei Lecha Chover program focused on matching Rabbis around the world and providing foundational tools for them to coach each other regularly avoiding significant fees needed for professional coaching sessions.

Elimelech can be reached via his website elilevy.com.au 

*https://www.mindtools.com/a4wo118/smart-goals