I will try. There is a lot being said there. When we say this are we really recognizing that we were not even trying at all before? Are we indicating an acknowledgement that we need to do something different now? Perhaps, I will try is just a way to get someone off of our back so that we can go right back to what we were doing before. You need to exercise more! I will try…. Really?
So what does it mean to actually try? How do you know when you are actually making a real attempt at accomplishing something? Thinking about this today. Here are a the two core evidences of a try:
1. Try implies failure. You are only trying if you are failing. If someone says they are going to try and then they go ahead and string together a series of failures, one after another, then guess what? Yup, they actually tried. If someone says that they will try and then nothing happens, not even a failure then guess what? Yup, they were blowing you off and never had an intention of changing their behaviour. If they suddenly start winning, with no failure at all then I have to really question what is going on here? I have never had that experience have you? I suddenly try and wow, amazing. Success right away! Never happened. Try always causes fail, fail, fail, then win.
2. Try implies do. I think yoda said this. Thanks yoda. If you start to try, then there will be activity. You cannot get around this. If you are going to try to go to the gym, you are only really trying when you actually go to the gym. If you are going to try to stop smoking, you only are trying when you actually stop smoking. You can only try to eat better when you eat better. Try is do. How can you tell when a try was only lip service. Simple. There is no doing going on. Maybe a lot of talk. A lot of planning. A lot of explanations perhaps. However, there is no do. That is a problem.
We lie to ourselves all the time. Tomorrow I am going to really start trying to do something better. Ok, great. You made a commitment. Now are you going to try? If you do attempt to try, remember these two core evidences. First, you are absolutely going to fail. That is ok! Keep trying! You failed once, cool. Try again until you fail again. This is progress! Keep try and fail until eventually when you are practiced enough the try will become win! Second, do not pretend to try to eat better and then start the day out eating pancakes with extra syrup. That was not try. That was just pretending. Do not say, I am going to exercise more and they literally do nothing. You have actually do.
Do and Fail. Repeat. That is the simple secret and the definition of try.
Guy Reams
