What is Tracht Gut Vet Zein Gut?
“Tracht Gut Vet Zein Gut” – I first heard that expression in September 2013.
The speaker was telling the jam-packed audience that if you think good thoughts, then good things will happen.
I was confused, not because the idea was so foreign, but because I never expected these words and the idea of “tracht gut vet zein gut” to come from the speaker.
The speaker was, in fact, a Rabbi, and my experience had never been one of a Rabbi giving a talk on positive thinking.
But this was a new experience and frankly refreshing.
Tracht Gut Vet Zein Gut is a Yiddish Expression
Once you understand that Tracht Gut Vet Zein Gut is Yiddish, you will have an easier time translating.
Yiddish is a thousand-year-old language that originated with the Ashkenazi Jews in the 9th century.
Yiddish is based on German and written using Hebrew script.
- Tracht in Yiddish means Think.
- Gut means Good.
- Vet Zein means Will Be.
- And the last gut is Good.
Therefore, “tracht gut vet zein gut” can be translated at its most basic level as ‘Think Good, It Will Be Good.’
The Big Surprise
Growing up, the most famous Yiddish expression I knew was “kvetch.”
Every language has hundreds of expressions, but being a kvetch, a whiner, or a complainer was much more familiar.
Kvetching was an art form that could be employed in a Rabbinical sermon.
- Your mom “kvetched”—why are you not a good boychik, a good boy, or worse, a mensch when you become an adult?
- You kvetched because there were no more Oreos. So, to make you feel better, your dad brought home bagels, lox, Oreos, Ice Cream, and other noshes (snacks).
- Eventually, grandma kvetches that you are getting too fat.
- Your Rabbi kvetches that you are not religious enough.
- And when you make the Rabbi happy, the aunt kvetches that now you are too religious.
- Last, your uncle talks about how terrible the world is.
Who is not kvetching?
You might have grown up thinking that kvetching is a Jewish art form.
Or perhaps kvetching is a human art form.
Imagine my surprise when I heard a Rabbi teaching the opposite; Tracht Gut Vet Zein Gut is the essential part of traditional Jewish wisdom that a person should use, not kvetching and complaining.
Think Good, and it Will Be Good.
If you want to change your life, start with your thoughts.
A Personal Example
While he was speaking about many examples of people who had overcome various misfortunes by using Tracht Gut Vet Zein Gut, I started to daydream a bit.
At that time, I began to imagine and think of some good scenes.
I imagined I would marry in the hall where I first heard this expression.
On face value, getting married after being single for so long did not seem possible.
But why not think good?
How about I stop whining, complaining, and kvetching and instead think of the good thoughts I want?
I visualized getting married in that hall where I heard the words Tracht Gut Vet Zein Gut.
Think Good is Not Natural
At least not for me or many people I know.
True, there are a few people who are usually on the positive side of life.
There are so many, though, who are not.
Why would there be so many shrinks in New York City if this was not the case?
Is thinking good natural for you?
Tracht gut vet zein gut did not come naturally to me, but, this concept resonated with me.
While I knew that positive affirmations were working, I did not know that the idea of revolutionizing one’s life with thoughts could be found in Yiddish as well, the language I had mainly associated with Kvetching!
Make Thinking Good the Default
I admit I can be a real kvetch.
I can speak from experience that in the case of kvetching versus good thoughts:
Thinking good wins because:
- Regardless of your thoughts results, at least you will feel good while thinking.
- good thoughts are going to make your life smoother.
- thinking good thoughts will motivate you to stay on your best path.
- these positive thoughts will help fuel your direction and accomplishments.
If you will think at all, why not think good thoughts?
The cost of thoughts in your mind is nothing, probably the least energy expended of anything that you will do today, so why not think the best thoughts possible?
Practice makes perfect, which makes “tracht gut vet zein gut” an excellent practice.
Tracht Gut Vet Zein Gut – Final Thoughts
A year and a half after I first heard the words Tracht Gut Vet Zein Gut, I did get married.
And the marriage took place at that very same hall, in the very spot where I had imagined the wedding taking place.
Was it because I was thinking those thoughts that it happened?
Frankly, it does not matter.
What matters is the quality of your life on a day-to-day basis.
Either you are thinking powerful and motivating thoughts, or you are not.
If you are going to spend time thinking at all, tracht gut vet zein gut is a wonderful place to start.
What’s Next
Besides thinking good, you need to take action.
Few exercises are as transformational for your mind and body as the simple deadlift.
Learn why deadlifts are so great and how deadlifts can change your body.
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Here is an infographic from Brian Tracy for a quick start to thinking good thoughts:
