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Do or Do Not - There is no try

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With the end of the year upon us, a lot of you have probably given some thought to New Year's resolutions. I have too - this year, I've decided to stop trying -at least in Judo.

Yes, I really did say that, but there is some greater context here, as foreshadowed by the quote above from the character Yoda in the Star Wars movies. Think about how we use the word try in a sentence? While try is perfectly neutral in the future or present tense (i.e. I will try to eat that food, or I am trying on clothes) it almost always connotes failure or disappointment in when used in the past tense (i.e. I tried it on, but didn't fit, or I tried it, but I didn't like it) while there are notable exceptions (i.e. I'm glad I tried it), the moral of the story is it is rare to hear someone say "I tried and succeeded."

Think of all of the times we say were going to try to do something and as the words leave our lips it's apparent to the person we're saying them to that our intent is not to get the job done. How many times have we 'tried to lose weight' or 'tried to get to practice often and early' and failed? How many times have we 'tried' to compete? I am tired of trying. Trying is great for school, but in life there are seldom any 'A's awarded for effort.

So this year, I am going to stop trying, and start doing. I will go to practice, I will improve my Judo, I will compete 2-5 times and I will win. As for the last line, you might be wondering, how does someone like me even insinuate that I will win - seeing that winning is hard for me. The answer - if I came into a competition saying that I was going to try to win, I wouldn't - simply because I've already psyched myself out. No goes out trying to win - they set out to win. In their mind there is a picture of the podium and their on top in the middle.

This is the year that I will not try, but do. Hopefully it will carry over outside of judo as well.

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