Trying Times

“Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.”

Man, Yoda sure said it. I hate the concept of “trying,” especially when it’s applied to something that you’re absolutely doing a terrible job at. Sometimes I watch someone just positively slam their head into a brick wall over and over, and when I point out that they’ve once again failed to get through and ask if they need help, they just get frustrated and yell, “I’m trying!”

Here’s why I hate that use of the phrase: To me, the central element of “trying” is “attempting to succeed.” Doing something you already know doesn’t work, but doing it harder, isn’t attempting to succeed. You see someone forget their glasses every morning, causing everyone to be late in the carpool because they have to turn around and get them. The rest of the group admonishes them for forgetting again, and they say, “I’m trying to remember!” Sure… but you won’t remember. We’ve established that. On Day 2, we figured out that you relying on your brain to instruct you of the need for your glasses at the appropriate time isn’t a successful strategy. So… what did you do differently on Day 3? Did you set an alarm on your phone for 3 minutes before you leave that says “Glasses?” Did you buy an extra pair to keep in your work bag? Did you ask your partner to start putting them on top of your keys the night before? Or… did you just “try” to remember them again?

If you angrily claim “I’m trying,” in response to criticism of your results, then I have news for you: you’re not trying. You’re doing the opposite, in fact. You’re being lazy about achieving results, because getting better results would require you to make a change that, however small it might be, you’re too lazy or stubborn to make.

Our brains are flawed machines. When they don’t do what we want, we have to work around them. That’s attempting to succeed. Anything else is just trying my patience.