Bhagavad Gita 2.40
नेहाभिक्रमनाशोऽस्ति प्रत्यवायो न विद्यते । स्वल्पमप्यस्य धर्मस्य त्रायते महतो भयात् ॥
nehābhikrama-nāśo 'sti pratyavāyo na vidyate | sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt ||
Translation
In this, no effort is lost, and there is no transgression. Even a little of this practice saves one from great fear.
Reflection
What small practice have you been delaying because you cannot do it perfectly yet?
Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter Two
The verse beginners return to. Abhikrama-nāśa nāsti. No loss of effort. Pratyavāyo na vidyate. No backward step. Whatever you put in stays in. Sv-alpam api, even a little. The practice does not require a complete delivery to begin yielding. The line is the antidote to the perfectionism that keeps people from starting. The fear it saves you from is the great fear: of being stuck, of being lost, of being undone by what your life is doing. Even a little of this work, Krishna says, reaches that fear and reduces it.