Never Do Anything Half-Heartedly

Last night, before bed, I watched an episode of Have a Sip featuring translator and artist Trinh Lu. He said something that really stuck with me (it was also the title of the episode): "Never do anything half-heartedly."

Counting them up, I have dozens of things that were "started but never finished." A guitar gathering dust in the corner after two weeks of enthusiastic chord practice. Personal projects that began with the highest passion, only to be forgotten. Or how three jogs a week slowly turned into not even thinking about putting on my running shoes anymore.

I’ve realized that living half-heartedly is the safest form of "escape," but it’s also the fastest way to kill your own potential.

The Comfort Zone of Half-Heartedness

Why do we often do things halfway? In reality, it’s a defense mechanism for the ego. If you do something half-heartedly and fail, you can easily comfort yourself: "Oh, it’s just because I didn't really try my best. If I had, the result would have been different."

Looking back to 9th grade—that age when we start looking around and wanting to prove ourselves—I decided to ask my mom for guitar lessons. To be honest, I didn't have a single drop of passion for music back then; I only asked because I saw my friends playing and thought it looked "cool." That desire to keep up with the crowd was the beginning of a long string of half-hearted days.

My dad, wanting to please me, asked a friend to help buy me a guitar. It was black, glossy, and truly beautiful. But unfortunately, its beauty wasn't enough to make up for my inner indifference. I went to classes "on and off," my fingers pressing chords while my mind was somewhere else entirely. My focus grew thinner and thinner until I quit altogether.

Whenever I saw that black guitar sitting silently, gathering dust in the corner of the house year after year, I would excuse myself: "I was just busy with exams, and it’s not like I wanted to be a musician anyway." I used the "lack of focus" as a shield to cover a harsh truth: I failed because I didn't dare to commit. That feeling wasn't comfortable or relieving as I had imagined. On the contrary, every time I looked at the layer of dust on that guitar, I felt a lingering guilt—not because I quit the instrument, but because I had wasted my parents' expectations and my own time.

Half-heartedness provides a fake exit. It helps us avoid the pain of rejection or failure after giving 100%. But in truth, it’s better to fail after giving it your all than to live forever with the regret of "What if..."

The Silent Waste

Doing something half-heartedly actually takes much more energy than being fully committed. This is because your mind is split: one half is doing the task, and the other half is struggling with whether or not to continue. You run while constantly looking back. Your legs will never reach their maximum speed. Those halfway thoughts will only keep you distracted.

Not giving your all is simply a waste of your own time. Time is the only thing we can never get back. Since you’re spending the effort anyway, why not do it properly?

During the last Lunar New Year, I spent my early mornings following my mother to a nearby pagoda to do volunteer work. The pagoda was vast with many sections, yet very few volunteers. While my mother went every single day, others were inconsistent. Being young, I was assigned the task of mopping the floors. It was daunting at first because of the scale. The mop would quickly become caked with dirt and dry out from the massive amount of dust left by a huge influx of visitors. The areas mopped with a dirty, dry mop would leave behind long, streaky white marks once they dried. It was exactly like using a dirty cloth to wipe a chalkboard back in school.

Then I asked myself: "I bothered to wake up early and come here to clean, so what’s the point if I do it like this? I've mopped it, but it's still dirty." Instead of just trying to "get it over with," I began to stop more frequently to wash the mop. I accepted going slower, but every square meter I passed had to truly shine. That was when I understood: kindness and quality never come from hurried half-heartedness.

P.S

Don’t just stand on the sidelines of your own life. If you choose to love, love with all your heart. If you choose to work, see it through to the end. And if you feel you cannot be fully committed, have the courage to let go and make room for what truly deserves your passion. Being caught in the middle is the most exhausting state of being. Choose to dive in or choose to stop.

Is there anything you’re doing "half-heartedly" that you want to finish today? Or something you want to give your full heart to? Let me know!