I've had a couple experiences lately that confirm this principle for me. One has been my experience in temple attendance. This summer, I went to the temple every week for 4 weeks in a row (I'm no longer close enough for that to happen). Before entering, I sat outside and read my scriptures for a half hour or full hour, and after the ordinances inside, I continued reading and praying for maybe another half hour. When I put the effort into consistent temple attendance, and prepared myself to learn while I was there, I got so much out of it: I came away with a greater appreciation of temple blessings, a greater awareness of Heavenly Father's love for me, and increased strength and peace for my everyday life. Going to the temple was nice before, but when I put the effort in to going frequently and preparing beforehand, it became that much more meaningful.
On the first day of my German class during my study abroad, this principle was emphasized again. I felt like some of the work in class was slightly tedious and repetitive(mostly because I had learned it already). But I realized that for my whole life, I've skipped the work that I thought was useless because it was so easy. I realized that by going through the small steps, you put the time in to really learn the material. Otherwise, the learning is just superficial, and flees soon after the test is taken.
If I really want to learn something, or to make something happen, I have to be willing to do all of the steps and be willing to sacrifice. If I want it, I need to pay for it with my time and dedication. Otherwise, I'll get what I pay for just the same - thus, if I pay only a little, I'll only get a very little return on my investment. Having this knowledge now helps motivate and humble me to reconsider how I treat my priorities.
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