I printed that email in full and laminated it, and it hangs on my fridge to this day

My parents gave me the gift of positive thinking. Whatever the problem, my father a”h would cite the Chassidic dictum, tracht gut vet zein gut – think good and it will be good. When I had a real crisis several years ago, my mother observed me one morning looking glum. “What’s the matter with you?” she said lovingly but firmly. “Where’s your bitachon? Tracht gut!” In that moment I resolved to change my mindset. Ultimately, that changed my reality in ways I could never have foreseen.

When my father was diagnosed with a terminal illness, I sent him an email. “I don’t know what to say other than what you always tell us, tracht gut vet zein gut,” I wrote. His response an hour later included the following: “That must be the only thought and slogan, and meant with full trust in hatov vehameitiv lakol ubakol, without allowing even the slightest trace of atzas hayeitzer to be chas vesholom beatzvus. The sign of true bitochon is continuous simcha which trumps everything.” I printed that email in full and laminated it, and it hangs on my fridge to this day.

This gift of positivity that my parents inculcated within me enables me to communicate the same to others. On an almost daily basis I encounter people who fret about their personal problems or are frightened about life’s bigger issues. Being able to share a more optimistic approach gives others a lift and enables them to see things from a different perspective.