What’s the fastest way to break a person?

When your soul isn't aligned with what you do, you break. The road to a meaningful life begins with reconnecting to your inner essence.

What’s the fastest way to break a person?

Pharaoh knew the secret. It wasn’t by making his slaves work longer hours — it was by making them do work that didn’t fit who they were. Tasks that didn’t speak to their hearts, didn’t align with their strengths, didn’t resonate with their essence.

The Midrash tells us that Moshe didn’t sit back in royal silk pajamas sipping Egyptian espresso. He went out. He saw the suffering of his people. But more than that — he saw misalignment. Men doing the work of women, women doing the work of men. Grandmothers carrying bricks, kids doing adult jobs. It wasn’t just slavery. It was identity erosion.

And Moshe knew — this won't last. When people are forced to live outside their design, they break. And so he told Pharaoh: "If you want your slaves to die young and burn out fast — keep this up. But if you want them to be productive? Let them do the work that matches their nature. Let them align with themselves."

This truth hasn’t changed.

Feeling broken? Burned out? Maybe it’s not because you're lazy or ungrateful. Maybe it's because you're not being you. Maybe you’re working just hard enough not to get fired, and being paid just enough not to quit. That’s not a life — that’s survival. That’s slavery with a paycheck.

But when you do what you're built for — you feel it. You can taste it in a pizza made by someone who loves making pizza. You can tell when a barber loves cutting hair. You see their soul in the details.

And the question is — are you doing the same?

Are you aligned with your gifts? Are you doing things you’re naturally good at, things that bring you meaning? Not necessarily as your main job — but at least somewhere in your life?

I’m not saying quit your job. But carve out time to do what lights you up. Because nothing fuels motivation like alignment. Nothing destroys a person faster than living someone else’s life.

When you’re carrying someone else’s dream, you become a slave in disguise. Free yourself. Step into your truth. That’s when you start to thrive.

Every morning, we thank God: “You returned my soul to me.” Not just my breath — my soul. My gifts. My meaning. My uniqueness.

Never sell yourself short. Don’t let anyone else do it either. There’s no one in the world more you-er than you. And the world needs exactly that.