You Will Never Succeed by Trying Your Best

The word try has such a noble connotation but when you get down to it and really analyze the meaning, trying breeds failure. It is unfortunate because so many people hang their hat on the fact that they tried their best but inherently failure is a probable outcome when one tries.

I am not a Star Wars fan but I must say that Yoda had it right when he said, "Do, or do not. There is no try." Take a moment to think about that. . .

Here's an example: When someone asks you to stop over for dinner and you say, "I'll try," what are you really saying? The reality is that you either will or won't go. So, are you going to go? Maybe, but probably not- if you were going to go you would have said, "Yes." You have kindly dismissed the offer with a possibility but not with a certainty.

Trying actually implies an attempt without success. When used in the past tense, "I tried..." it is almost always followed by a failure or an excuse and rarely a success. "I tried to get to the store but my car died." "I tried to hit the game winning shot but it fell just short." Very rarely would you ever hear, "I tried to do a back flip, and I did." No, you would hear, "I did a back flip!" Why then would anyone expect to have a different (successful) outcome when using the word in the present or future tense?

You must change your thinking and your attitude when approaching a task. Rather than telling yourself that you will try to do something, make the commitment to actually do it. Obviously this doesn't guarantee success but it does guarantee your effort. As a result of this you will notice many more successes for you because you have eliminated the inherent probability of failure. Failures will happen, they have to. And, if you do fail, then you did your best and that is okay- especially if you have learned something from it. But remember, as James Ray said, "Trying, is failing with honor."

We all know that the life we want is out there and it really is ours for the taking. What most people don't realize though is that the very first step in the process is simply making a decision; making a decision that it will be ours and that we are going to go full steam and get after it. When making this decision there is no way anyone should ever derail the chance of their success by allowing such a potentially negative word to even enter their thought process.

Why in the world would anyone put themselves behing the proverbial eight ball? I don't know but we see people do it every day and they do it with honor and a proudness about it. We hear it all the time, "I am going to try..." Well, good for you and good luck with that. But, why not give yourself an advantage and just go out and DO it?

The next time you have a decision to make about an action that you will take, chose to either do it or not, don't try- you owe yourself that much.