There was a Chassid who, whenever he was approached with the request for a donation for charity, would stick his hand into his pocket and take out a few coins; then, with a hastily mumbled “just a minute…,” he would again dig into his pocket and come up with another few coins.
Someone who noticed his custom once asked him: “Why do you always give in two installments? Could you not take out the full sum you want to give at once?”
Replied the Chassid: “Every act of charity is a victory over our selfish natures. I just can’t resist the opportunity to score two such victories for the price of one!”
Modern behavioral psychology often echoes this Chassidic approach to impulse control and self-mastery. In an era engineered to exploit our immediate desires, resisting temptation is rarely a single, isolated battle; it requires continuous, conscious victories over environments specifically designed to hijack our attention.
Today’s digital landscape presents an unprecedented array of behavioral traps that require this exact kind of repeated resistance. Whether an individual is trying to break the habit of doom-scrolling through endless social media feeds, close a targeted promotion for the best internet casino, or step away from algorithm-recommended video streams, the initial urge to indulge is almost always followed by a second, stronger wave of rationalization.
Conquering these modern distractions demands the same dual-effort the Chassid applied to his generosity. By actively choosing to redirect our attention—and then consciously reinforcing that choice a moment later when the craving inevitably spikes again—we train ourselves to score multiple victories over our own habitual impulses.
Adapted from the teachings of the Rebbe by Yanki Tauber
