It Just May Do You A World Of Good

In his book Greenlights, Actor Matthew McConaughey he outlines how three words changed his life.

He describes a pivotal moment, thity-odd yaers ago. He had braced himself for a hard conversation that could so sideways fast. To put the odds in his favor he strategized. His father was a temperamental man, but at 7:30 on a weeknight, he’d likely be enjoying an after-dinner beer on the couch with McConaughey’s mother. So, McConaughey mustered-up the courage to call and opened with the bombshell: “I don’t want to go to law school anymore. I want to go to film school.”

He had just quashed his parent’s expectations and hopes for him, so he braced for the backlash. Instead, his father just said, “Huh. Are you sure that’s what you want to do?”

“Yes sir” McConaughey responded.

His response was met with a pregnant pause, and McConaughey waited for his Dad, a blue-collar Texan, to unleash his disapproval at his ‘avant-garde European idea of being an artist.’ The response he did get made the young McConaughey tear-up. “Well, don’t half ass it,” his father said.

As McConaughey describes it, it was the best answer he could have given: “It was more than approval that he gave me. He gave me rocket fuel with that line. The way he said it, he was like ‘Do it. Not only do I approve of you doing it, but awesome. I’m giving you privilege and freedom to do it and responsibility to do it.’”

It’s a touching story that makes us ask if we are encouraging our children enough and the kind of parent we’d like to be. And it’s the advice we often need to give to ourselves.

However, I must admit that I always found the term ‘half-assed’ odd. In context, as above, it makes
perfect sense. Nonetheless, when I hear it can’t help but wonder where is the world could this come from? What exactly is full assed? (metaphorically of course, we know full-well about the physical kind) Online etymology sites only point to a possible association with an old British term ‘half-arsed’ to describe someone with little resolve or courage. That may explain how the adjective became a verb, but does nothing to explain the origin of the term itself.

It’s not until one hears Author Steven Pressfield’s famous line “Put your ass where your heart wants to be” that it truly clicks. It’s only then that it makes perfect sense that half-assed would be the perfect term for half-hearted. Courage and heart are the same thing – coeur – there, the etymology is clear.

And if McConaughey’s life has turned out to be interesting so far, one can’t help but wonder how much is luck. He openly acknowledges that those lucky greenlights he hit happened because he created a lot of them by taking responsibility today and thus creating freedom for tomorrow. Something for us to think about as we decide what to focus on next. After all, it’s your ass that is on the line.

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too.

William H. Murray (Himalayan Explorer)

K. Wilkins is the author of:

Stoic Virtues Journal: Your Guide to Becoming the Person You Aspire to Be

Rules for Living Journal: Life Advice Based On the Words and Wisdom of Jordan B. Peterson