Bhagavad Gita 3.19
तस्मादसक्तः सततं कार्यं कर्म समाचर । असक्तो ह्याचरन्कर्म परमाप्नोति पूरुषः ॥
tasmād asaktaḥ satataṃ kāryaṃ karma samācara | asakto hy ācaran karma param āpnoti pūruṣaḥ ||
Translation
Therefore, always perform action which must be performed, without attachment; for a man who performs action without attachment attains the supreme.
Reflection
What would change in the work itself if you stopped waiting to see what it earned you?
Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter Three
Tasmāt. Therefore. The conclusion of the exception clause: since you are not the one in 3.17, the work continues. Asaktaḥ satataṃ kāryaṃ karma. Without clinging, always, what must be done. Each word doing real work. The verb samācara, perform fully, asks for the action with both hands. Shankara: the without-attachment does not mean half-hearted. It means whole-hearted and unclinging. Param āpnoti, attains the supreme. The teacher names what the student is reaching for and locates it precisely in the same act Arjuna was about to drop.