Editor’s Note: “Words of Inspiration” are shared by Lloyd Newell each Sunday during the weekly broadcast of the Tabernacle Choir on Temple Square. This was previously aired and will be broadcast again on Sunday, April 18, 2021.
During a few days of vacation, a family decided to work on a complicated puzzle, hoping that it would give them a good opportunity to spend time together. The goal was to finish the project before having to return to work and school. During the first days, everyone participated with enthusiasm, but gradually each of them began to take care of other things, and everything seemed to indicate that they would never achieve their goal. But they refocused their commitment and worked the puzzle through to completion. His motto was: doing something every day is better than doing nothing.
Sometimes the magnitude of the task in front of us is so daunting that it is almost impossible for us to get started and get on with it. Sure, most of life’s great challenges are much more rigorous than a puzzle, but the same principle applies to them: Doing something is better than doing nothing.
It is true that, in some cases, nothing it is better than something. For example, there are times when a tense situation can be better handled by being quiet and calm than by saying or doing something angrily. However, when trying to improve or achieve a goal, even if we cannot do everything at once, we can do something on a regular basis, and that is better than doing absolutely nothing.
An older couple applies that motto to their physical health. Every day, they try to go for a walk, stretch their muscles, and move despite their physical aches and pains. Despite their limitations, they don’t allow those things to keep them from doing something every day.
For other people, it may not be the body but a relationship that they need to strengthen, recognizing that taking small steps is generally better than doing nothing. If the relationship is with God, we have many meaningful options: say a prayer, take time for reflection, read the scriptures, or try to help someone in need. Over time, all those simple efforts will pay off. So when you think a task is too big, remember that putting it off will not make it smaller. We progress when we do something, which is better than doing nothing.
In tune …
The broadcast of the program “Music and Words of Inspiration” is available on KSL-TV, KSL Radio 1160AM / 102.7FM, ksl.com, BYU-TV, BYU Radio, Dish y DirectTV, SiriusXM Radio (Canal 143), the website and the YouTube channel Tabernacle Choir, and Amazon Alexa (feature must be enabled). The show airs live on Sundays at 9:30 am on many of these channels. Find broadcast information for your state and city at musicandthespokenword.org/schedules.
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