Positivity Bias

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.

Not only does consciously crafting a positive demeanor impact our own joy and positivity levels, but as a side effect, our company will be more enjoyable and desirable to others due to the magnetic power of positivity.

The same is true of our journey through life. Pauses, interruptions, and setbacks are an inadvertent part of a person’s sojourn on earth. But when everything a person does is toward the goal of attaining the “Holy Land”—the sanctification of the material world—these, too, become journeys of their own. Ultimately, these unplanned stops are shown to

IN THE REBBE’S OFT-REPEATED words—paraphrasing the Mishnah408—”hamaaseh hu ha’ikar,” which means that the essential thing is the deed, not abstract study. Otherwise, teachings and words, no matter how beautiful, wise, or aesthetic, are devarim beteilim “empty expressions” and their

“The mind cannot think two different thoughts at the same time. The next time you want to get rid of a thought, don’t try to fight it; simply replace it with a different one.”415

don’t enjoy for a few years, perhaps, but there will come a time when it starts to build resentment. We are programmed to pursue contentment;

“A good neighbor [is paramount]!”

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.

In all of these stories, the Rebbe consistently expresses the liberating truth that we only reach the ultimate joy and fulfillment in life when our passion and profession intersect, and where our source and sense of purpose, productivity, pleasure, and profit converge and coalesce. If you do what you love, you will love what you do.

“If, however, you want to be able to observe the actual change you inspire in your audiences,” the Rebbe continued, “I suggest that you not speak in abstract terms. Teach your audiences a practical Jewish tradition, and leave them with an action point, even if it’s only one thing,