Analysis: Changing Your Middos

Some people are the architect of their own habits. Those very same habits can normalize certain behavioral patterns for that person. If one is always spending time in the least hospitable social environment, they’ll develop the habit of thinking that most people are inward and closed off. If such a person purchases a house in the back side of a neighborhood at the dead end, then they’ll obviously have less people passing by them. They are thus, creating a path into their own loneliness. 

This very concept can be applied unto many aspects of life. One’s own basic habits can shape even the seemingly small social tendencies which can build up over time and influence the bigger picture – helping or hindering one’s ability to succeed in their own interests. The “smaller” habits truly have an influence by affecting us in greater qualities of life including our Yiddishkeit when it comes performing mitzvos, learning Torah, and engaging in other spiritual activities. One must make the changes necessary to better his life by reformulating his middos in order to enhance his existence in this world and the world to come. Let’s use this Channukah to remind ourselves that it’s never too late to break off bad habits.