You cannot be passive in life, or in time the natural man will undermine your efforts to live worthily. You become what you do and what you think about. Lack of character leads one under pressure to satisfy appetite or seek personal gain. You cannot successfully bolster a weak character with the cloak of pretense.

Richard G. Scott “The Transforming Power of Faith and Character“

I am important as an individual because of those things of which I am a part; marriage, family, congregation, community, nation, etc.  I am a son of God and the greatest value in that connection is found in service to others.  No matter how I choose to live my life it has value; be it to me or to those that care about me.  It has significantly greater value when I choose to make sacrifices for the benefit of others be they family, friends or strangers. When we choose to live our lives in emulation of the Savior all the goodness we hold is magnified and we grow beyond that which we could on our own.

The true power in the agency we’ve been granted as children of our Father in Heaven is in overcoming inertia.  Too easily we sit where we are in life and make either no or half-hearted attempts at growing beyond the creature that looks back at us in the mirror.  We simply need to stand up, take action, and follow the divine guidance we’ve already been given.  We will grow as we act on the light and knowledge we already hold.  As we choose to do so and act definitively on those choices we will receive greater light and knowledge and grow to our full potential.