I just love this lesson on Duty.  Something to remember, and something I’m learning every day!

“Do not confuse ‘duty’ with what other people expect of you; they are totally different.

Duty is a debt you owe yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily.  Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die.  Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.

But there is no reward at all for doing what others expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible.  Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life painfully few.  If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100% of your time, and squawk for more!

So learn to say NO! and be rude about it when necessary. (This does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours – don’t do it because it is expected of you.)”

-Lazarus Long