The Secret to True Personal Growth

In 1998, researchers named Simons and Levin conducted a crazy experiment on the street. A person stopped passersby to ask [music] for directions, and in the middle of the conversation, two people carrying a door passed between them. [music] And in that moment, the person asking the question was swapped with a completely different person. Different height, different voice, and amazingly, almost half didn't notice. This is called change blindness. When something changes for a moment outside our line [music] of sight, the brain doesn't register it. And let's think about what that means for us. It's hardest to notice change when it's slow, and we change [music] slowly, growing, maturing, becoming better. But because it's gradual, we don't see it. We still see the old stuck version. I'll never change. The Torah [music] knew this secret. Regarding the expulsion of the enemy from the land, it says, "Little by little I will drive them out, not all at once. [music] Little by little." God doesn't ask us to change all at once. He asks for one small step each day, because real change is always slow, and therefore invisible [music] to the eye. Science has proven that we are blind to slow change. The Torah knew that true change is actually slow. The Holy One, blessed be He, doesn't count the leaps. He counts the small steps that we don't [music] even notice. Let's not despair just because we don't see change. Let's trust [music] in the small steps.