Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz frequently said: Be especially careful if you feel you have gone down in your spiritual level. There is danger when one feels he has failed spiritually. He is likely to give up completely, and in panic might commit many wrongdoings.
Even if you feel you are on a low rung, strengthen yourself wherever you presently are. If you take an optimistic view of your situation and feel confident that you can improve, you will be able to elevate yourself.
(Sichos Mussar, 1971/13; Rabbi Pliskin's Gateway to Happiness, p.219)
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About the Author
More by this Author >
Rabbi Zelig Pliskin is a noted psychologist and prolific author of 24 books, including Guard Your Tongue, Gateway to Happiness, Gateway to Self Knowledge, Love Your Neighbor, Growth Through Torah, The Power of Words, Consulting the Wise, and the recent Life is Now. Rabbi Pliskin lives in Jerusalem, and is the director of Aish HaTorah's Counseling Center and a senior lecturer at Aish's Essentials program and the Executive Learning Center. He was ordained at the Telshe Yeshiva in Ohio and holds a degree in Counseling Psychology.
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(1) mysteries, August 17, 2009 7:46 PM
No option
If one is on a spirtual path then one should try and be positive and not feel a failure. To have progressed thus far one should reinvigorate themselves. Giving up and relinquishing all hopes at any time is against the human spirit and against humans being a part of creation.