Why does my life feel full of small problems?

Rabbi Landau teaches that if your life is full of small problems, you are probably living too small. “You want to know the size of a man, check the size of his battles.”

Some people crumble from a late email, a rude comment or a traffic jam, and then wonder why their life isn’t growing. The secret, he says, is that “the only path to greatness is through greater problems, not avoiding them.” The giants in life did not have it easy. They walked into the storms, not away from them.

Chazal said it clearly: “Kol hagadol mechaveiro, yitzro gadol mimenu,” the greater the person, the greater his struggle. That is his test. If you are still only solving small problems, Rabbi Landau warns, you’re not growing; “you’re just circling in a tiny cage.” And if you keep choosing comfort, don’t be surprised when your world stays small.

Also answered in this teaching

What should I do when something small irritates me?

In A Soul at Peace, Rabbi Landau suggests stopping to ask what real battle you are avoiding right now, whether in prayer, a character trait or Torah study. Once you start that battle, the small problems simply stop interesting you.

Going deeper: Rabbi Landau's teaching, level by level

Surface claim

A strong person is measured by the size of the battles he can carry, not by his comfort.

Fear, vulnerability, or tension

Small irritations can swallow a person’s energy. In A Soul at Peace, Rabbi Landau writes that the small battles are sometimes the very way we run away from the big one.

Underlying need or longing

A person wants his life to grow. Growth, Rabbi Landau teaches, only comes through bigger problems.

Deepest human truth

Chazal teach that the greater the person, the greater the struggle. As Rabbi Landau writes, the goal is not a life without problems, but a life with problems that are worthy of you.

More questions from this teaching

• What does “the greater the person, the greater his struggle” mean?