Don’t Do Things Half-Assed!

A reminder to give your all and that doing the harder stuff is worth it.

Whenever I face difficult moments, my mother always comes to mind. Rather than run from challenges, she taught me to lean into doing the hard things. As a kid, she always used to say, “Don’t do things half-assed!” I hated hearing that line, especially when I put one glass in the dishwasher, and she would say, “Do the rest of the dishes while you are there.”

My mother held high expectations for her kids, and it was very tough to live up to. Perfection was often the unspoken goal. She did not believe in taking the easy way out or doing the bare minimum.

Over time, I learned that the best things I took from her were not the perfectionist ideas, but the values. The reminder to give your all and that doing the harder stuff is worth it. If you work through the difficult moments, when you make it to the other side, everything feels easier. You have more room to flex new muscles.

Then she died last week, and this blog that I started earlier in the month suddenly means something very different.

When my sister and I stood up to speak about my mother at her funeral, we gave a tribute to her life. I talked about how much I admired her courage, her willingness to take risks, and her openness to new experiences. My mother believed in seeing a problem and creating a solution. She was quiet in a grounded, confident way and spoke up only when it mattered. She was a lifelong learner and deeply valued education. Imagine a young, newlywed couple at twenty years old, graduating from college, getting married, and in the next seven years having three kids, while alternating nights to go to graduate school. My mother was especially proud that she finished her last exam for her master’s degree while pregnant, just a few months before she gave birth to my little sister in 1967.

Her hard work really paid off over the years. She valued relationships and invested time and energy in others. That ability to build connections shaped my own life, both at work and at home. As a family, we built a business, made connections in our community through service, and opened our home. If you needed help finding a job or a place to eat, or somewhere to stay during a holiday, you were invited. You were fed. You were included. You became family. Many relatives and friends worked at MRI over the years. Supporting others and teaching them a trade was part of her generosity, and she believed there was always enough success to go around.

I can’t help but see my mother’s teachings ring true through many of the things that happened in the last 12 months. My eldest son challenged himself to run the NYC Marathon in under five hours. After he finished it, he said he knew it would be hard, but it was even harder than he expected. He stuck with it, and I’m so proud of him for doing something challenging.

My daughter got married in February, a beautiful and joyful occasion, but one that also required a lot of commitment and work. A lot of planning and work goes into weddings, but in the end, it all came together beautifully.

And finally, my youngest son played his last college football game. The past four years were tough for him because he didn’t get the playing time he had worked so hard for, but he never gave up. He now faces a bleak job market when he graduates in May, but the dedication and discipline he displayed on the football field have, no doubt, given him the necessary life skills that will push him through that next chapter of his life.

When thinking about all three of my kids, it’s inevitable to see how the choices they made along the way shaped how they lived through their challenges. So many people do hard things like this and even harder. They raise families, earn degrees, juggle jobs, scrape by, and keep going. These are life skills that build strength and grit. I admire the tenacity it takes to set a goal and see it through.

As the holiday season begins and 2025 comes to a close, I invite you to take some time to reflect on your loved ones, your career, what you accomplished, and how you want to challenge yourself in the coming year.

When you consider the areas where you can improve, think of my mom. Instead of choosing the easy thing, choose the hard thing!

We only have one life. Make it count. And as she always said, “Don’t do things half-assed!”