You Have Great Power!
Everyone wants to succeed in life, both spiritually and materially. Everyone wants to achieve his complete rectification and to fulfill his purpose in life.
All of us want to succeed in life, both spiritually and materially. Our deepest desire is to achieve our complete tikkun (Rectification) and fulfill our purpose in life.
Many people ask themselves, "Why can't I be a success?" "Why don't things go the way I'd want them to?" The problem is that they do not really know themselves, so they are unaware of their real capabilities.
Know yourself!
Each one of us has tremendous untapped powers.
Each one of us has a yetzer tov, the inner aspect that craves goodness, and a yetzer hara, which compels us towards evil.
The yetzer tov's purpose is to draw man closer to his Creator, to guide him towards perfection and fulfillment of his purpose in life. The yetzer tov enables man to recognize his abilities and use them for acquiring good and for spiritual growth.
Through the yetzer tov, we reveal our unique spark, as Rebbe Nachman says: “Each Jew has a precious part within him, which is the aspect perceived as a ’point,’ (unconnected and separate) which is totally unique to him. This (unique) aspect, which he has more of than his fellow Jew, (should be used) to influence, enlighten and arouse the heart of his fellow (Likutei Moharan Part I, 34).”
In this unique "point," we have the characteristic of a tzaddik (righteous man) and leader. The yetzer tov joins forces with our hidden talents to direct us towards this "point."
The yetzer hara, on the other hand, tries to break our spirit, to prevent us from believing in ourselves and our capabilities, and to draw us into depression and despair. As a result of being led astray and brought to false beliefs, we become distant from our Creator.
How?
The yetzer hara prevents us from using our willpower – and everything depends on our willpower.
How many times do we make up our minds to do something positive and then end up going to sleep or watching television instead? What happened? We were not sufficiently motivated. Our resolve was not firm enough.
Willpower is a strong inner force that compels us to accomplish. Most people, however, do not make full use of this inner force.
Rebbe Nachman understood that our battle against the yetzer hara depends on the force of our willpower, as he said, "If you believe you can ruin, believe you can rectify as well,” and, “Know, that a man has to travel on a very narrow bridge; but the main thing is not to be afraid at all.” We believe that we have the power to make a tikkun, and that we should not be afraid because “There is no reason for despair at all in the world!”
Rebbe Nachman told us never to be afraid because we have a great power – our willpower. Although life is a constant struggle, we can use our willpower to improve and elevate ourselves (while being careful to stay away from illusions!) The yetzer hara tries to destroy us by destroying our willpower – our motivation to aspire and grow. Our task is to harness that power for attaining goodness.
But desires must be properly channeled to a singular goal. Sometimes our desires are too diversified. Instead of focusing our prayers and energies on a specific goal, we try to accomplish too many things at once. This, too, is the work of the yetzer hara.
Why does the yetzer hara succeed in causing us to desire so many different things? Diversified desires prevent us from deep spiritual exertion.
How do we overcome our inclination for diversified desires? By getting organized! Just as we organize our material possessions, we must organize our spiritual goals through taking small, realistic steps towards spiritual growth and self-improvement.
When we try to accomplish too much at once, the yetzer hara argues that since we can't do anything right, we might as well stop trying! As a result of these negative thoughts, we give up and refrain from spiritual growth. Since we think that we are incapable of facing the challenges of life, we don't even attempt to face them.
Through harnessing our willpower for slow and persistent spiritual growth, we will we see lasting results. Although our progress might seem slow, we will eventually change. As Rebbe Nachman says, “A little is also good.” Each sign of growth and achievement serves to strengthen our willpower.
Prayer is an integral part of this process. Through prayer – which in our holy books is referred to as "avodah," "work" – we internalize our growth and learning. Therefore, our spiritual development is reflected in our prayers.
Real and heartfelt prayer connects us to and actualizes our willpower. Through prayer, we can merit to fulfill our purpose and reveal and strengthen our inner powers. Then the yetzer hara cannot argue that we're incapable and unsuccessful.
Rebbe Natan said: Where I see a 'lacking,' it means either they never prayed for that matter at all or that they did not pray enough. What is the 'lacking?' It is a lack of willpower. Where there is a 'lacking,' one must fill himself with longing, and desire for the good and to pray for it. One must not leave space for the desires of the yetzer hara, G-d forbid. These desires are not good; they are impure desires for physical pleasures and negative character traits, which cause a loss of the desire for holiness.”
Prayer is a measure of our faith, emunah, and belief in our innate abilities. As Rebbe Nachman says, “At the moment of prayer, all of man's inherent powers are drawn into the words of the prayer. This is the principle: All the powers of a man are standing and waiting to enter the words of prayer. When a man begins to pray (with concentration) all his powers immediately join together to assist him to pray with even more concentration. Additionally, they assist him to increase his desire and to fulfill what he is lacking.”
There is but one will in existence – the will of our Creator. As soon as we are aware of His will and seek to cleave and fulfill His will, we are privileged to recognize our own strengths. How do we connect ourselves to the will of our Creator? One of the most basic ways is through prayer.
Arrogance, however, cuts us off from our Creator. When a person is arrogant, he wants to rule, to be King. He wants things to turn out the way he thinks it should, and then forgets about G-d's will. Since life will never proceed exactly as planned, he becomes broken and angry.
When we are upset or broken, we should ask ourselves if we're really harnessing our willpower for growth and praying for spiritual success. We have great powers, but they can only be actualized through hard work, a real, earnest desire to succeed and, most important of all, honest, heartfelt prayer.
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