As yesterday’s post pointed out inspiration serves as a motivator but strengthening your Avodas Hashem (service of Hashem) is the real goal.
What are you working on this Elul
a) Improving kavannah during Shomenah Esrai
b) Saying Tehillim more often
c) Learning with more depth
d) Spending more hours per week learning
e) Starting another seder of learning
f) Refraining from Loshon Hara and Onoas Devorim
g) Being happy with my lot
h) Working on my anger
i) Wasting less time
j) Thinking more about Hashem during the day
k) other
This Elul, my teshuvah includes quitting the Democratic Party because it is committed to promoting so-called “gay rights†and so-called “gay marriageâ€, and joining the Conservative Party, because it is the only party committed to opposing so-called “gay marriage.â€
My same items keep coming up again every year for scrutiny. There is some progress on most fronts, but far more to do. At least, being conscious of problems helps in addressing them.
Most center on developing more patience and on-taskness.
For me, Elul isn’t so much a time to “work on” stuff as much as a time to consider how I’ve done over the year with the “stuff” I targeted at the year’s beginning and worked on during the year.
I’m working on really wanting to do all of the above. That’s a step.
a) Improving kavannah during Shomenah Esrai
i) Wasting less time
Spend more time with my wife
Spend more time with my kids
Look for the Good in people, even if they have a different approach to Judaism