People say this. I say this. But what does it really mean? I have used this phrase in giving advice to someone at work who asked me whether it was acceptable to work for an organization for years and be satisfied with “being in the middle,” or just doing enough to get by but not making an effort to stand out in a leadership capacity. My sage advice was to “Go big or go home.” I did not say those words, but I did indicate that a life spent giving anything less than your very best lends itself to being less engaged and less likely to make a significant impact in the world.

I started thinking about this phrase again this week in a literal sense. It’s December, which means there are a plethora of Christmas programs, cookie exchanges, lunches, dinner, parties, etc…at work and church, and I have managed to participate in all of them on a significant level. At church, I served in the children’s choir ministry so I helped 60 children through three costume changes over a two night period. It was exhausting and wonderful, but my daughter was in the kindergarten choir and because my focus was on second through fifth graders, I “missed” seeing her sing even though I was right in front of her. For the office cookie exchange, I made a massive cookie that needed to be plugged in. Because it was more decorative than anything else so nobody got to eat it, which defeats the purpose of a cookie exchange. I then volunteered to host a dinner for another work-related event and volunteered to bring the tree for decorations. I took our Christmas tree from home for the event and decorated it even nicer than I did for our house. And then, today, I constructed this massive gingerbread doghouse for our Charlie Brown Christmas potluck at work. I stayed up pretty late and missed talking with my husband.

Why did I do all of this? The very simple answer is that I enjoyed it all. I love participating in events and going over-the-top in terms of decorations and baked goods. I don’t do it out of any obligation since I volunteer for all of it. It doesn’t really stress me out because I thoroughly enjoy the creative liberty I have in these tasks. But, and this is a big BUT, I never seem to muster the same enthusiasm for these tasks at home. Would I spend four hours constructing Snoopy’s doghouse just for my family to enjoy? Would I stay up half the night creating designs for a cookie? Probably not. At home, I enjoy simplicity. My husband asked me why I invest so much time into doing things for other people when I don’t do the same at home.

That’s an excellent question. I rationalize it by saying that my creativity is in proportion to the number of people who would enjoy the end product. There are 150 people in my office so I need something big and grand whereas my immediate family of three-four if you include my dog Freckles-doesn’t need big and grand. Here’s the truth. My family may not need big and grand, but they deserve so much more effort than I give at work. Apparently, I only go big at work, and then when I return home, I think on a very small scale.
This doesn’t mean I give less at work. It just means I need to be intentional about “going big” at home because I know I can.
Does anyone else do this?