"Anything Worth Doing is Worth Doing Poorly"

This motto has served me well! It has helped me to do many good things, albeit poorly! I would not recommend this motto for all:  Many might not need it. I need it because my primary vulnerability, my "Achilles heel" is: discouragement!  I am prone to be weak, insecure and lacking in confidence. This is, for me, a grave interior sin! It is Satan's primary weapon against me. God's plan for me is that I be a strong man: courageous, confident, steady, zealous, calm and even fierce in His purposes including my marriage, family and work! Satan wants me to be a wimp. I have found that when my standards are high I am more vulnerable to discouragement: "I am a failure at this."  So I have come to accept that: "when I lower my expectations, my performance rises." And so, I am sloppy, irregular, distracted and haphazard in: house maintenance, handy man work, paperwork, administration...as well as my prayer life, fasting, participation in renewal movements, service of the needy, and a laundry list of other efforts. Consistently, I do these good things, poorly!  It is a great blessing to do good things, however poorly. Among the most helpful books I have read is The Spirituality of Imperfection by Ernest Kurtz. His thesis is that knowing and owning imperfection, weakness, frailty and specific sinfulness is  a privileged pathway to genuine wholeness and holiness. This leads to a deep, passionate yearning for and trust in Jesus our Lord! It liberates from moralism and and a piety of "spiritual bypassing" that masks weakness and sin. As a release from oppressive conscientiousness and perfectionism, it is light, delightful and refreshing. You might like it! Do something good...do it poorly...but do it...and enjoy it!