Parshas Beshalach: Finding Motivation

We hope you have all enjoyed your summer/winter break.  For those who have been on holiday, we hope you have had safe and pleasant journeys.  But every holiday must come to an end and then it is time to head back to work (or school).

Usually, going back to work (or school) is not very much fun.  Most people are not excited to head back to the office or the classroom the way they were excited to go on holiday.  Still, most of us have things in life we must do, even if we don’t enjoy them much.

We all have different things that motivate us.  Some people are motivated by the carrot (the reward they will get for doing something) and others are motivated by the stick (the repercussions for not doing something).  Either way, we all have our reasons for getting something done.  I might clean my kitchen because I love the way it looks when the counters are clean and shining or I might clean it to avoid getting bugs, but either way the unpleasant task will be done.

In this week’s parsha, the Jews might not have been so excited to head out into the desert.  After all, they are not gone from Egypt for very long before they get stuck at the Reed Sea and some begin suggesting that perhaps it would be best to just turn around and go back.  And even once they’re across, many of the Jews complain they miss the foods they are familiar with (like cucumbers and watermelon) from back in Egypt. So it’s likely that many of them weren’t all that motivated to leave Egypt.

So why did they leave, then?

Well, the slavery was not exactly pleasant.  And once Moshe (Moses) approached Pharaoh to ask for the Jews’ freedom, he intensified their suffering.  Not only that, but the Egyptians came chasing after the Jews.  If Pharaoh was angered by being asked to free the Jews and made their work harder, imagine what he would do to those Jewish slaves he managed to catch and bring back!  Those Jews who were motivated by the carrot no doubt envisioned that life in the desert would have to be better than life as a slave in Egypt, while those Jews who were motivated by the stick had been beaten down enough by Pharaoh to ensure a swift exit, even into the desert.

Sometimes G-d gives us similar motivations in our lives.  These motivations can come in all shapes and sizes.  G-d gives us babies who smile at us if we change their diapers – or smell bad we don’t.  He gives us changes, challenges, and opportunities in our lives to motivate us to better keep the mitzvot.  We can choose to be motivated by the carrot – the good that will come to us if we keep the mitzvot – or we can wait for the stick to prod us in the right direction.  Either way, it is up to us to find the motivation to move in the right direction, even if it isn’t always pleasant or fun at the outset.

Here’s wishing everyone the motivation to get done the things they need to!

Shabbat shalom!

Read more on Parshas Beshalach: Facing Our Fears Head-on

Read more on Parshas Beshalach: Never Judge a Book by its Cover

New Years day is a time many people revise their resolutions and set goals for the coming year. Some have a list of things they would like to do before they die, often known as a ‘bucket list.’ Every year they select a handful of items from their list and try to get them done. Some few people are very successful in achieving the goals they set, while the vast majority end up setting the same goals year after year. Many will die having not done the things on their bucket list.

Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year has always been my time to set revise. To think about the past year and to brain storm ideas of what I’d like to achieve in the coming year. My birthday is shortly after Sukkot which comes roughly one month after Rosh Hashana. During this period of time between Rosh Hashana and my birthday, I’ll reflect on my goals. By the time my birthday comes around I’ve got a good idea of what I want to do.

Thus said, anytime is a good time to revise ones goals be it January first or February first. In fact, reviewing your goals every day is important to make sure you are well aware of them and to actively schedule in time to get them done.

Around a week ago a friend shared an idea with me which because of, I spent January first doing a complete revision of my goals. The idea shared was: ‘Don’t set goals. Implement life style changes!’

At first it sounded fairly simple, but after thinking it through, I realized this is the answer to achieving some of my goals that have been around for a long time.

For example, say you put on your goal list ‘Run a marathon.’ A year goes bye and you’ve not done it. Many will tell you it is because the goal was to big and not manageable. You need to break it down to say ‘Run 5km.,’ and from there, 10km, 20km etc.  I’ve tried this method in the past to various success. The problem I found with it, is that it often is not inspiring. You want to after all run a marathon not 5km.

With implementing lifestyle change, you could do the following. For the next 90 days. Walk/run for 30 minutes twice a week. This should be fairly easy. Then for 90 days walk/run 3 times per week for 45 minutes. Then for 90 days, walk run 4 times per week for 45 minutes. Then for 90 days run 4-5 time per week and you are now ready to run marathon!

A typical new years goal people set is to loose weight. This goal usually repeats its self year after year. Forget the goal and implement life style changes and you will automatically loose the weight. The idea is to do things for 90 days so that they become a habit and part of the way you live.

• Drink water in the morning instead of coffee
• Eat a piece of fruit for morning and afternoon snack instead of a cookies or chips
• Use low fat milk or mayonnaise

If you make these kinds of changes to your lifestyle figure 3 changes in a n area of life you are trying to improve, you will be implementing 12 changes over the year. it is inevitable that the goal will be reached without having to think about it.

See here for ideas to put on your Jewish bucket list.