{"id":625,"date":"2013-02-13T11:29:12","date_gmt":"2013-02-13T16:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/truthsyoucanuse\/?p=625"},"modified":"2013-02-14T08:00:04","modified_gmt":"2013-02-14T13:00:04","slug":"are-you-ready-to-be-superhuman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/truthsyoucanuse\/2013\/02\/are-you-ready-to-be-superhuman.html","title":{"rendered":"How To Be Super At Being Human"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"how<\/a><\/p>\n

At a conference I attended yesterday, writer Carrie Wilkerson shared a profound piece of wisdom. In discussing the hard work required for success, she said, \u201cDon’t try to be superhuman. Be human and people will think you are super.\u201d<\/p>\n

She captured a profound truth. When we try to be something we are not, we fail. A superhuman is not human.<\/p>\n

The secret, however, is that we can grow. We become our best when we are our best. In other words, we become superhuman when we are super at being human.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Story of Zusya<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jewish tradition teaches this wisdom in a profound story. It is about a man named Zusya. He was successful, accomplished, and a pillar of his community. He was married, with children and grand children.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He was also a man of faith. He prayed and studied, gave to to the poor, and volunteered for his community.<\/p>\n

As he grew older, however, he began to have fears. He would lay awake at night. He would shiver. He occasionally withdrew and seemed depressed.<\/p>\n

<\/strong>One day he was sitting with children and grandchildren. He grew fearful. They asked him what was wrong.<\/p>\n

He said to them, \u201cI am growing older. I will not be in this world much longer. And I am afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Fear of Not Being Ourself<\/strong><\/p>\n

His children and grandchildren responded, \u201cBut papa, you have lived an extraordinary life. You worked, you gave, you build a wonderful family.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You cared about our faith. You are the patriarch of our family. You followed the example of our ancestor Moses, who served God and the Jewish people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zusya replied: \u201cWhen I get to Heaven, they will not say, Zusya, why were not Moses? They\u2019ll ask me, ‘Zusya, Why weren\u2019t you Zusya<\/em>.’\u201d<\/p>\n

The purpose of life is not to be someone we are not. It is to be the best at who we are. And that is our gift to the world.<\/p>\n

To receive Rabbi Moffic\u2019s weekly digest of Jewish wisdom, click\u00a0here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At a conference I attended yesterday, writer Carrie Wilkerson shared a profound piece of wisdom. In discussing the hard work required for success, she said, \u201cDon’t try to be superhuman. Be human and people will think you are super.\u201d She captured a profound truth. When we try to be something we are not, we fail.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":507,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[39,232,240,242,241,239],"class_list":["post-625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-faith","tag-growth","tag-human","tag-inspiration","tag-superhero","tag-superhuman"],"yoast_head":"\nHow To Be Super At Being Human - Truths You Can Use<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/truthsyoucanuse\/2013\/02\/are-you-ready-to-be-superhuman.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How To Be Super At Being Human - Truths You Can Use\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At a conference I attended yesterday, writer Carrie Wilkerson shared a profound piece of wisdom. In discussing the hard work required for success, she said, \u201cDon’t try to be superhuman. Be human and people will think you are super.\u201d She captured a profound truth. 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