Talmud zu Mischlej 25:7

Ben Azzai would say: Run to fulfill even a minor mitzvah.
He would also say: If you have performed only one mitzvah without regrets, it will bring you to [performing] many more mitzvot. But one who commits even one transgression without regrets, it will bring him to many other transgressions. For one mitzvah leads to another, and one transgression leads to another. For the reward for a mitzvah is another commandment, and the punishment for a transgression is another transgression.
He would also say: Stop yourself [from transgressing], so that you are rewarded for your effort. Do not wait for others to stop you, for then they will receive the reward.
He would also say: Take yourself down two or three levels, and then come back. For better that they say to you: Step up! Rather than: Step down!” as it says (Proverbs 25:7), “For it is better to be told: Ascend! than to be degraded in front of nobility.”