Positivity Bias

The Rebbe interjected, “Just as it is forbidden to speak disparagingly about someone else—even if speaking the absolute truth—it is also forbidden to speak negatively about oneself!”414 It is important to free ourselves

But as Chasidic thought teaches, emotions are like children. Just as a healthy parent would not insult their child, so too, we shouldn’t insult our inner selves. Whatever you wouldn’t say to someone else in decent company, don’t say to yourself.

“Focus on the benefits of being free rather than dwelling on memories of your prison time. This may be difficult at first, but you can do it.”418

Sometimes we view our current life circumstances through the lens of previous negative experiences. Comparing good with bad colors the good. When we carry anger, fear, or sadness from the past into the present, it makes room for its continued influence.

should always make the most out of exactly where we are, no matter how fleeting that moment may be. As the following chapter illustrates, throughout the Rebbe’s life he embodied the advice he would give to others and manifested the principle of Positivity even in the most harrowing of situations.

covet”273 is one of the Ten Commandments. Petty, vindictive,

“Once, when I was a young girl, my father318 took me for a walk in the park. He sat me down on a bench and began telling me about Divine Providence.319 ‘Every time’—said Father—‘something causes us to deviate from our normal routine, there is a Divinely ordained reason for this; every time we see something unusual, there is a purpose in why we’ve b

is judged and valued on its intellectual merits alone, not on its practical applicability. Therefore, in the secular world, the merit of philosophers and scholars is not related to or measured by their personal behavior. How they live is deemed irrelevant to their intellectual discoveries and contributions.

Instead of immediately offering the most negative experience or challenge we are currently dealing with, try to mention something positive—at least as a starting point.