Text of the meditation
Whoever lacks thoroughness in their worldly duties will also lack it in spiritual things. Thoroughness is completeness, perfection; it means doing a thing so well that there is nothing left to be desired; it means doing one's work, if not better than anyone else can do it, at least not worse than the best that others do.
It means the exercise of much thought, the putting forth of great energy, the persistent application of the mind to its task, the cultivation of patience, perseverance and a high sense of duty. An ancient teacher said, "If anything has to be done, let a person do it, let them attack it vigorously"; and another teacher said, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." It is better to be a whole-souled worldling than a half-hearted religionist.
James Allen (1864–1912), Book of Meditations for Every Day in the Year (1913) – public-domain text, gently modernised.
The original 1913 text is in the public domain.