Every day we are faced with people letting us down. Some of these let downs are so insignificant
we probably don’t give a second thought to them. Then there are others that hurt us, burden us
and tick us off.
People tell us daily that they ‘almost’ did something to completion or insist on affirming that they, ‘tried’.
People tell us daily that they ‘almost’ did something to completion or insist on affirming that they, ‘tried’.
The terms ‘try’, ‘tried’ or ‘trying’ have become a catch all
for the complete apathy our society expresses toward --- well, everything. These terms give people a socially accepted
verb to use whenever they do not want to take responsibility for their
actions. Saying, ‘I tried’ allows people
to break their word and avoid all ramifications that would otherwise come with
not holding up ones end of the bargain.
It’s not their fault, when they were young many of them received trophies for simply participating in sports and contests. I, on the other hand, remember receiving nothing but a minor lecture after a championship hockey game when our team lost 2-1 at 11 years old. Did I deserve a trophy for my failure? I stayed up until 2AM playing Super Mario 3 on Nintendo with 2 other teammates the night before our 8AM championship game. I didn’t TRY! I simply didn’t take it seriously and failed. Fast forward 15 years and I am surrounded by 20-50 year old people who still haven’t learned this very valuable lesson.
I had a mentor once who, when someone said ‘I tried’ while describing why they didn’t do something they were supposed to, he would quickly quip back, ‘Did you do your best?’
It’s not their fault, when they were young many of them received trophies for simply participating in sports and contests. I, on the other hand, remember receiving nothing but a minor lecture after a championship hockey game when our team lost 2-1 at 11 years old. Did I deserve a trophy for my failure? I stayed up until 2AM playing Super Mario 3 on Nintendo with 2 other teammates the night before our 8AM championship game. I didn’t TRY! I simply didn’t take it seriously and failed. Fast forward 15 years and I am surrounded by 20-50 year old people who still haven’t learned this very valuable lesson.
I had a mentor once who, when someone said ‘I tried’ while describing why they didn’t do something they were supposed to, he would quickly quip back, ‘Did you do your best?’
Imagine a world where people had to replace ‘I tried’ with ‘I
did my best’. Take a minute to reflect
on the last 3-4 times someone let you down using only the words, ‘I tried’ as
their reasoning.
Now, imagine that person had told you he/she had done their best and failed?
In a purely comical sense I could think of many people I would encourage leaving my life if their ‘best’; produced the kind of results I see from people daily.
Now, imagine that person had told you he/she had done their best and failed?
In a purely comical sense I could think of many people I would encourage leaving my life if their ‘best’; produced the kind of results I see from people daily.
The problem with saying you tried is simple -- you probably didn’t. Intent or intending to do something is
nothing unless it gets done. You could
intend to invent the next Slap Chop, discover the next Justin Bieber or program
the next Facebook – but until you do, you didn’t.
Intentions should only be made known through actions. Variations of the word ‘TRY’ should become profanities in your offices and homes. Encourage responsibility taking, deadline meeting and goal achieving to become habits.
Intentions should only be made known through actions. Variations of the word ‘TRY’ should become profanities in your offices and homes. Encourage responsibility taking, deadline meeting and goal achieving to become habits.
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