Force Your Eyes Open
Torah learning
Reb Mendek Ostover, one of the chassidim, once complained to the Sefas Emes that he simply could not stay awake when he tried to learn. He kept falling asleep over his sefer.
The Sefas Emes did not accept the excuse. He told him, “Rip open your eyelids. Force your eyes open and learn.” The words made such an impression on the chassid that in that same year he completed all four parts of the Shulchan Aruch.