"Full Speed"

Against Hesitating - Dag Hammarskjöld

Thanks to your "success," you now have something to lose. Because of this - as if suddenly aware of the risks - you ask whether you, or anyone, can "succeed." If you go on in this way, thoughtlessly mirroring yourself in an obituary, you will soon be writing your epitaph - in two senses.

When the morning's freshness has been replaced by the weariness of midday, when the leg muscles quiver under the strain, the climb seems endless, and, suddenly, nothing will go quite as you wish - it is then that you must not hesitate.

[Source: "Markings" by Dag Hammarskjöld - Daily Dig]

An old friend shared a story. As a defensive back, he kept missing his man in the offense's backfield, kept aiming for the wrong offensive player. His coach pulled him aside, trying to talk some sense into him: "If you're going to miss your guy, at least hit somebody and knock him down. If you make a mistake, make it at full speed."