I’ve been thinking about the word “try” and how I feel about it. Without noticing, it’s a word that crops up again and again.
On the one hand, it opens up new worlds when you say “I’ll try it out and see what happens”.
On the other hand, it can feel noncommittal when you say “I’ll try to call the client”. It is like there is a backdoor where you escape as quickly as you said it just to pacify who you are telling.
Let’s take another example. You bump into an acquaintance and say “Let’s try to get together”. I know it’s rather polite and leaves a nice way out but if you really wanted to get together, get out the calendars there and then.
So what do you say instead? Instead of saying “I will try to eat more healthily” or “I will try to stop smoking”, see what it feels like to say “I will eat more healthily” or “I will stop smoking”. Do you see the difference, the second feels stronger and there are more weight and commitment behind it.
I was going to say “Try it out” but caught myself so rather “Take out try from your sentences and see how you feel”. Like Yoda says, you do or you do not. There is no try.