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Life Poems
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Life poems such as this one explain why it is important to begin - and finish - an unpleasant task as soon as possible, so it doesn't weigh you down. This is how success is achieved.
Anything is hard to begin, whether it be taking a cold bath, writing a letter, clearing up a misunderstanding, or falling to on the day's work. Yet "a thing begun is half done." No matter how unpleasant a thing is to do, begin it and immediately it becomes less unpleasant. Form the excellent habit of making a start.
Loose The Day Loitering
Lose the day loitering, 'twill be the same story
To-morrow, and the next more dilatory,
For indecision brings its own delays,
And days are lost lamenting o'er lost days.
Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute!
What you can do, or think you can, begin it!
Only engage, and then the mind grows heated;
Begin it, and the work will be completed.
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
Goethe was a German writer, poet, novelist, playwright, natural philosopher, and diplomat whose works span the fields of poetry, drama, literature, theology, humanism, and science. Goethe was one of the key figures of German literature in the late 18th century. He was the author of the scientific text "Theory of Colours", which focused on plant morphology and so influenced Darwin in his theory of evolution.
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