Stop Trying and Start Doing!
"There is no try, there is do and do not do". I remember as a boy watching this strange but wise little green creature. I was struck even back then by how profound and insightful this statement was. Yoda was not only a great Jedi Knight but a heck of a coach. The "There is no try" quote is quite legendary. Yoda was correct; no matter how you slice it there is no try.
Inevitable during my Breaking Through The Barrier someone will achieve a break though, a deeper understanding of what is possible, and they will say "Ok. I will try that." My team knows what is coming. I ask "Try?" and they say "Yes, I will try that." I ask the individual to stand up and to "try" to pick up the chair in front of them. They pick up the chair and I say "No, you picked up the chair. I asked you to try to pick up the chair." They then put their hands on the chair and NOT lift up the chair. My response is "No that is NOT picking up the chair. Show me what try looks like." It goes back and forth until they start laughing as they finally realize the intent of the exercise. You either pick up the chair or you don't, there is no try.
Trying gives you the illusion of commitment and without the responsibility of it.
Saying we're trying, makes us feel we are making progress, that we are on our way; but in all honesty we are no closer to what we want then we were before. It is simple; we do our "musts" not our "shoulds". Try is a should. Think back to a change you made in your life. Perhaps it was when you moved on from a dead end job. I am sure you thought about before but never followed through and didn't take action. Then something happened and you couldn't take it any more. You did what ever it took and you created the change. For those who are parents; when your child came into this world, was it good enough to "try" to take care of your child? I highly doubt it. You "did" take care of your child, you did whatever it took, worked another job, asked for help, read books, took parenting classes, whatever it took. "Doing" not "trying" is the difference that makes the difference.
When we allow ourselves to become deluded with the illusion of commitment, we lose the accountability that comes when we take responsibility. With the illusion of commitment, there is no internal or external pressure to stay the course and equally as important, there is no emotional commitment. When there is no emotional commitment, there is nothing to lose. When there is nothing at risk, there is no reward. We tread along and become frustrated when we hit road blocks or don't see the results. Eventually, we give up and accept the consolation of knowing that we "tried". Yet, aren't your dreams, passions, and those things that are most important to you worth more than a consolation prize? We must not fear "doing" or perhaps it is the falling short that scares us? True fulfillment comes from the effort that we invest in our desire not in the achievement of it.
There is a difference between trying and training. "Trying" is taking sporadic action without any true commitment. "Training" is taking about taking consistent action, fully committed to the process and its outcome. The similarity of the two is very often you will fall short, hit barriers, and even achieve defeat. The difference is that when you are in training you keep pushing forward, not matter what. You do this not just for the achievement but for the challenge of the spirit.
So it is time for action.
Step 1 - Think of one thing that you have been making a "should" that needs to be a "must".
Step 2 - Decide how to make this a must? Do you get a coach? A trainer? An accountability partner? Write letters to the people you respect the most asking them if you could be accountable to them. You MUST make it a MUST.
Step 3 - Identify what you achieve emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and physically by committing to being in "training"?
Step 4 - Determine what is the first step? Keep it simple and do it in the next 24 hours.
Step 5 - Create an action list.
Step 6 - Do what is next....
Training is never easy, but it is real. Learn to enjoy the journey and the process and you will live an extraordinary life.
I wish you a month of love and joy.
