by Rabbi Steve Leder @steve_leder, steveleder.com
Rabbi Steve writes in the Aug/Sept issue of Women’s Day magazine, “This is the time of the year when Jews enter the High Holy Days, which include Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – a sacred season to seek forgiveness from those we have wronged. The completion of these steps is called “complete return.”
Step 1: Stop. Stop whatever you are doing that might be hurting someone else.
Step 2: Feel. Do not avoid the pain of guilt.
Step 3: Verbalize. “I was wrong” is very difficult to say and is a game changer.
Step 4: Plan. Make a scaffold to support your intention to stop the hurtful behavior.
You can also read his bestseller More Beautiful Than Before: How Suffering Transforms Us, which contains this lesson and more.