100%

"If a man is called a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and Earth will pause to say, Here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well."

~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Its amazing how much impact we can have, even in the "small" things. Even when I was a waitress/bartender, I had the ability to make or break someone's day. When I teach, the amount of care I take to ensure that my students understand the content can affect them in the future. When I sign or sing at church, the effort and preparation and heart I put into it can affect someone's worship.

And whether or not we believe it to be true, people can tell when you are not giving your all, when you are putting forth a half-hearted effort, when you're distracted, etc. I don't want to be described as someone who mostly did my various jobs or callings well, most of the time. I don't want any qualifiers in there at all.

But this is a problem for me, and for others like me - I want to try so many things, want to be good at so many things, want to say yes to everything that anyone asks me so as not to disappoint them, etc. This leads to spreading the self too thin, and I run the risk of only partially giving myself to too many things.

This is where whole-hearted YES and whole-hearted NO answers come in. I am striving to fully say yes, to mean it, to give 100%. And I'm also striving to say no more, to say it whole-heartedly, and to not waver. And I will be great at a few things, instead of mediocre at many.

conscience

Cowardice asks the question, is it safe?
Expediency asks the question, is it politic?
Vanity asks the question, is it popular?
But conscience asks the question, is it right?

There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe nor popular,
but he must take it because his conscience tells him that it is right.

~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Quotes

"You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there."
-unknown

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily."
-Zig Ziglar