Try Not!

~ sparedbygrace@yahoo.com

 

Many will recognize the following quote by a famous philosopher: “Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try”. The depth of the truth that is communicated may not be immediately obvious. But, the truth is compelling. As it states, we either do or we do not do. When we do, we are not guaranteed success. Failure is a part of doing. If we do not, we are guaranteed to fail. Thus, failure is the result of not doing. “Trying” might entail expenditure of energy that consumes time but is only that, a consumer of time, a going through the motions; looking busy; self-fulfilling old scripts. To be fair, “trying” can be honestly attempting to “do”, experimenting without a keen sense of direction. In the last case, it is really “doing”. Doing is honorable. We learn by doing, success or not. Failure is information.

Thomas Edison, in one of his famous quotes stated: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” What a great attitude. Persistence, even though there is no immediate success builds patience, endurance, and character. Success is not immediate. Success is the outcome of preparation and hard work. Success is the result of doing.

Success does not necessarily mean “perfect”. I am convinced that Thomas Edison would be both surprised and not surprised by the developments in lightbulbs. “Perfect” may  better be seen as an accomplishment on a path to further accomplishments. That need not be discouraging but encouraging. There can be more. It has been suggested that practice does not make perfect, but it does make permanent. It can be built upon. How refreshing! There is the possibility of more.

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Published by sparedbygrace@yahoo.com

I am Richard Brewer—a Christ-follower, psychologist, husband, father, grandfather (Papa) sometimes writer, and lifelong student of people. For much of my professional life, I've had the privilege of sitting with people as they wrestle with some of life's most difficult questions—questions about faith, suffering, grief, relationships, identity, failure, hope, and what it means to live well. Those conversations have changed the way I see people and the way I understand my own faith. They have taught me that life is rarely as simple as our explanations of it, that people are almost always more complicated than they appear, and that sometimes the wisest response to a difficult question is to empathize and to keep asking better questions. I am a committed Christ-follower, but I am not interested in pretending that Christianity eliminates mystery or that faith means having an answer for everything. Faith invites us to pursue truth honestly, to think deeply, to acknowledge what we do not know, and ultimately to trust the God we do know. Mediocre Meanderings is where I explore some of those questions. I write about faith and psychology, grief and suffering, leadership and relationships, aging and ordinary life—and occasionally whatever else catches my attention along the way. I do not write from the perspective of someone who has figured life out. I write as someone who has lived enough of it to know that I have not. These are my thoughts, questions, observations, and occasional attempts at wisdom. Take what is useful. Challenge what is not. And, if you would like, meander along with me.