义不容辞 VS 量力而为

Even though I am a grown man of 45 and a father of two, I realise that my father's words still carries weight in my heart.

Whenever I wanted to embark on a big project, or start a business, I would find a chance to ask him what he thought about it. I would tell him why I wanted to do it, and also share with him the risk factors I saw and my other concerns.

The concerns could be, "I may not have what it take to pull this off", or "I am not sure how the idea would work", or "I may not have the time to do it."

His reply was usually just this, ‘’你认为这样做对吗？如果是对的，就去做，我们在背后支持你。‘’ (Do you it is the right thing to do? If it is, go ahead and do it. We are behind you. )

It was a simple response, and it usually did not solve my concerns. But it always gave me courage and resolve to do something.

In life, there are burdens that we encounter in our paths that we feel a strong urge to carry. It can be to meet an unmet need. It can be to help a group a people. It can be to implement an idea which we think is wonderful.

There is a Chinese idiom called "义不容辞", loosely translated as "we have the moral obligation to do take on a task because it is the right thing to do".

义不容辞 has been the guiding principle in my life. It gave me the backbone to do what I deeply believe is right, even if it will cost me. Cofounding a tutor's community is one of it. Cofounding a cotutoring space called Tutor Storey is another.

At times I would be overstretched. I would drop the ball because of overcommitmemt. I would get stressed because I worry about whether I carried out my responsibilities properly. I would piss people off because they think I lack focus, or I am too greedy, or too irresponsible.

All these were the price I paid, and am still paying, because of my principle of 义不容辞。

Sometimes I would remember another saying of my father, which is ‘’量力而为’‘, loosely translating to "check whether you have what it takes, before taking on a task".

Fascinating idioms, aren't they? 谁说华文没有用？