Give yourself fully to the practice. If you hold a lot back, then the results are not going to come. If you give of yourself, the results do come.

"In our society of entitlement, a lot of people feel they can just take it easy and things should come their way. Then when things don’t come their way, they start complaining. But that’s not Dhamma practice. Dhamma practice is the realization that you’ve got to prove yourself. You’ve still got a lot of work to do with your mind, still a lot of areas where you could be kind to yourself and to other people, provide more happiness for yourself and for other people, but you’ve got to give up some of the things you have.

And what have you got here? You’ve got your body. You’ve got your speech. You’ve got your mind. So give your body and mind to the practice. Sit and meditate longer than you might want to. See what that does for you. Walk in meditation longer than you might want to. Be more careful about your speech than you ordinarily might be. Learn how to ride herd on your mind, how to observe when to encourage it, when to rein it in. In other words, give yourself fully to the practice. If you hold a lot back, then the results are not going to come. If you give of yourself, the results do come."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Give It Your All"

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