They want the ball — the great ones. They want it when stakes are both low and high. When the odds are against, and when the odds are for them. This is a special kind of recognition: Understanding that in any situation, a great moment is one second, minute, hour from occurring, and that it needs to be defined, and that in order to be the definer, they must certainly have the ball. The agents of great undertakings are willing to put themselves in positions of potentially great failure, but they also possess an innate knowledge that they will succeed, for without this certainty, who is the great one? Is this arrogance? This is self-knowledge. The great ones know themselves, their capabilities, and they address their own weaknesses with vigor, courage, and fear.
Description
Motivation ball
A ground ball is a baseball hit by the batter that bounces very fast along the ground. This is called letting the ball play you. You are at the mercy of the unpredictable hops the ball can take. This is a disastrous attitude to have in fielding a ground ball. You will likely kick the ball or miss it altogether. Instead, what you should do is play the ball, rather than letting it play you. You should charge the ball as it speeds towards you.
Struggling with motivation?
It's satire, but this is all stuff you may hear at Thanksgiving dinner. As Joanne mentioned, should you marry interfaith, you will have lots of help from fellow ward members on converting your spouse. She seems to be ok with that, and wants to continue our relationship, and also talks about wanting marriage and children, and raising those children to be mormon like her even if I'm not religious. By all means, I encourage you to try having those discussions and to make a mental note of when you would choose to walk away instead. A lot of Mormons escape that pitfall and can put people first. Response to your edit: Do NOT bring up or mention anything that could be considered "anti Mormon. All those are reasons to give the church some elbow room but they are not reasons for actually staying.
Finally, the decision of whom you marry is really between you and God. Never ask vague questions and give her definite options instead. Good luck with her, and good life to you. By the time you are done, you'll have all of the basics down and will have the framework to know what to ask next without any confusion.
