I’m convinced that many of my generation’s life philosophies were informed not so much by great books, strong role models or sharp education, but by – yep, for better or worse – movies. While generations past may have sat around quoting from literature and offering up witty political retorts in conversation, my generation is more likely to toss out a famous film quote or reference an awkward coming-of-age flick moment as a point of reference.
Obvious Karate Kid deference aside, the single film moment that goes through my head the most these days is from The Empire Strikes Back. (Whiny) Luke is standing on the edge of a swamp as his X-wing fighter sinks ever deeper into the muck. Yoda encourages Luke to use the Force to lift the ship out of the swamp, but Luke is nonplussed. He weakly offers back, “OK…I’ll give it a try.”
Yoda responds sternly:
“NO! Try not! Do, or do not. There is no try!”
Luke fails. Yoda proves him wrong. In the end (of the next movie) they blow up the unfinished Death Star (which still – for some reason – has a fatal flaw in its design that allows a single shot to generate a chain reaction that will destroy it.)
There have been moments in my life when I – like Luke – was standing on the edge of the swamp offering up a wimpy, “OK…I’ll give it a try.” In many ways these moments were more about self-protection than about accomplishment. I wanted to ensure that if I failed I had an insurance policy. An escape clause.
“Try” was my escape clause.
If I “try” something and fail, it wasn’t really my fault. Maybe the project was too big, maybe it wasn’t really “my thing” or maybe there were other factors conspiring against me.
But if I attempt to do something with all I have and I fail, then there is a good chance that I’ll have to stare at my own limitations and deal with my mortality. I’ll have to face the fact that I’m not as capable as I wish or imagine I am.
Our feigned attempts at work are often the result of the self-protective instinct. We don’t want to have to deal with our limitations any more than we want to think about the possibility of death. So we shrink back, offer up semi-true attempts, and keep our finger on the eject button.
Today, this week, this moment, if you’re wrestling with something that seems too difficult or that challenges your sense of purpose or ability, remember the eternal words of Master Yoda, “Try not! Do, or do not. There is no try!”
(And please, for the love, never kiss your sister.)
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Thanks for the creative kick in the pants! The only downside is that I’m now motivated to get back to work instead of reading your blog. =) …don’t worry though; I’ll be back.
Thanks Stephen! I’m often torn, because our main mission is to push people away from the site and back to work. :)
OH, you’re talking right to me, aren’t you? New to your blog. Love it.
Well, one finger pointed back at my own chest, if you know what I mean… :) Thanks for your kind words.
What’s weird, I’m only lately realizing, is that it’s actually much more damaging for my self-esteem to U-turn or whimp out than it is to try, not succeed as I’d hoped, learn some valuable stuff and move on to try again another way…
Totally agree. A failed full-on effort leaves no room for “what if…” and “maybe…”
This is actually a reference my best friend and I have thrown at each other for years. You are exactly right about the ‘I’ll try,’ as a wimpy form of giving up.
We shouldn’t assess what our outcome will before we even put in the effort. If we’re doing something because it is what we need to do, we should simply do it. Thinking about how we might fail only makes the possibility of failure more real and creates an easy path to ‘see, I didn’t think I could do it. But hey, I tried.’
Thanks for this one. It’s a great lesson. (and yeah, the sister thing is pretty gross.)
This is actually a reference my best friend and I have thrown at each other for years. You are exactly right about the ‘I’ll try,’ as a wimpy form of giving up.
We shouldn’t assess what our outcome will before we even put in the effort. If we’re doing something because it is what we need to do, we should simply do it. Thinking about how we might fail only makes the possibility of failure more real and creates an easy path to ‘see, I didn’t think I could do it. But hey, I tried.’
Thanks for this one. It’s a great lesson. (and yeah, the sister thing is pretty gross.)
This is actually a reference my best friend and I have thrown at each other for years. You are exactly right about the ‘I’ll try,’ as a wimpy form of giving up.
We shouldn’t assess what our outcome will before we even put in the effort. If we’re doing something because it is what we need to do, we should simply do it. Thinking about how we might fail only makes the possibility of failure more real and creates an easy path to ‘see, I didn’t think I could do it. But hey, I tried.’
Thanks for this one. It’s a great lesson. (and yeah, the sister thing is pretty gross.)
This is actually a reference my best friend and I have thrown at each other for years. You are exactly right about the ‘I’ll try,’ as a wimpy form of giving up.
We shouldn’t assess what our outcome will before we even put in the effort. If we’re doing something because it is what we need to do, we should simply do it. Thinking about how we might fail only makes the possibility of failure more real and creates an easy path to ‘see, I didn’t think I could do it. But hey, I tried.’
Thanks for this one. It’s a great lesson. (and yeah, the sister thing is pretty gross.)
Well, I tried to pack two lessons in one: focus and work hard, and never kiss your sister. I thought about tossing in “never set up camp on an ice planet”, but figured that might be irrelevant to most.
Well, I tried to pack two lessons in one: focus and work hard, and never kiss your sister. I thought about tossing in “never set up camp on an ice planet”, but figured that might be irrelevant to most.
Well, I tried to pack two lessons in one: focus and work hard, and never kiss your sister. I thought about tossing in “never set up camp on an ice planet”, but figured that might be irrelevant to most.
Well, I tried to pack two lessons in one: focus and work hard, and never kiss your sister. I thought about tossing in “never set up camp on an ice planet”, but figured that might be irrelevant to most.
If you do, make sure you have one of these…
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/plush/bb2e/
Nice! You have to use one of these to open it every night:
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/collectibles/b72c/?pfm=homepage_Featured_2
Your Geek-Fu is strong.
Well, I tried to pack two lessons in one: focus and work hard, and never kiss your sister. I thought about tossing in “never set up camp on an ice planet”, but figured that might be irrelevant to most.
This is actually a reference my best friend and I have thrown at each other for years. You are exactly right about the ‘I’ll try,’ as a wimpy form of giving up.
We shouldn’t assess what our outcome will before we even put in the effort. If we’re doing something because it is what we need to do, we should simply do it. Thinking about how we might fail only makes the possibility of failure more real and creates an easy path to ‘see, I didn’t think I could do it. But hey, I tried.’
Thanks for this one. It’s a great lesson. (and yeah, the sister thing is pretty gross.)
This is actually a reference my best friend and I have thrown at each other for years. You are exactly right about the ‘I’ll try,’ as a wimpy form of giving up.
We shouldn’t assess what our outcome will before we even put in the effort. If we’re doing something because it is what we need to do, we should simply do it. Thinking about how we might fail only makes the possibility of failure more real and creates an easy path to ‘see, I didn’t think I could do it. But hey, I tried.’
Thanks for this one. It’s a great lesson. (and yeah, the sister thing is pretty gross.)
I think there is a difference between trying with the mindset of never giving up and trying with the mindset of failure. Most children learning to walk try many times and succeed eventually. They do not have a concept of failure yet. You only fail when you stop trying. Trying is learning.
Thanks for the post. Great job on the site.