Looking Inward to Grow

Picture: by blog.lib.umn.edu

Today we talk about growth, taking risks and the ability to fail in order to succeed. If you don't believe me, take a look at my blog posts and Facebook page.

How does one grow?

You could do a lot of reading on the subject which is important, but how is that going to help you.

There is this saying  not sure who to give credit to but I used it all the time. There are two ways to grow, you can put the other person down so you feel better or you can raise yourself up.

Obviously the message is we need to do the later.

I was reminded of this at an event this week that is not related to education or growth at all. I attended a pro-Israel rally here to show my support for what is happening in the Jewish homeland (my homeland). Right next to us was an anti-Israel rally. All of the organizers stressed we are here because we believe and want to support Israel and we are not here to fight and confront the other protesters.

That message resonated very strongly with me and reminded me of that saying.

No matter what we are going to confront in life we need to be looking forward and looking to grow and that means we need to look inward to improve ourselves.

If we or I want to help Israel what do I need to be doing what extra Mitzvah (commandments) can I do. Perhaps giving more charity, etc.

If I want to work on certain friendships how can I be a better friend?

If I want to improve as an educator what can I do to make that happen? Blaming the system is not going to help you grow.

And if I want my students to grow, then I need to instill in them the idea that growth comes from within and to understand that they control their destiny.

A story is told about a Jewish day school that went to ask the Rabbi for some advice. There was another school about to open and the school feared they would lose students. The Rabbi answered them to be the best you can be. They protested, but their tuition will be lower, what should we do. He said again offer the best product possible.

I think he was saying look at yourselves, look inward to grow and don't worry about what they are doing