I was always told to "try the best I could". The implication being that if I tried my best, even if I failed, I had somehow succeeded. I have struggled with that concept always. I don't see how trying negates the failure. It doesn't mean we don't learn from trying. It doesn't mean that failing is a bad thing. But I have grown tired of the concept of simply trying to do something.
If change is desired badly enough whether it be to quit smoking, get a new job, leave a relationship, start exercising then you don't "try" to do it. You simply begin taking the step necessary to do it. It doesn't mean the path is always clear and easy. It doesn't mean you won't have setbacks. But it does mean you have banished trying.
It is easy to tell when someone has reached that point. Their vocabulary changes. They no longer say: "I am trying to quit smoking." They say: "I quit smoking." They don't say: I am going to try to get to the gym 3 times a week." They say: "I go to the gym 3 times a week.
I say we remove "try" from our vocabulary. We do, or we don't. And we live with that.
No comments:
Post a Comment