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8.5.18

Learning what to avoid seems to be just as important as learning what to emphasize.

I think people have a general condition that precedes each  sin. And another kind of precondition that is necessary before they do some good. It is not the same for each person.
This may sound speculative but to a large degree this can be seen in large groups where some particular kind of evil exits.

Thinking in analogies always has a kind of danger.  We see this in Freud who took the analogy of  a steam engine and applied it to people with sublimation of energy and letting off steam etc.

Still this idea of a person having a particular kind of stumbling block seems accurate to me.

We see also  in good and great people that at some point they became aware of what areas they needed to concentrate on and what areas to avoid.


My thoughts on this are based somewhat on Thomas Reid, Hobhouse and also noticing in 2-d waves that every wave has a kind of equation in which there is a single coefficient for each terms.


So how can you tell  what particular areas you need to concentrate on on?

You might have noticed that certain saints concentrated on not speaking slander, or lies, and the Gra concentrated on learning Torah. Navardok on trust. It is hard to know the areas one is weak in and what are one's strong points.

I have tried to develop an approach based somewhat on my parents and on principles I gained from being in the Mir in NY and also experience.

Learning what to avoid seems to be just as important as learning what to emphasize.