"I'll try."
I hear this statement all the time and, up until I understood what absolute BS it was, I used it regularly. It's a terrible statement. It's a liar. It makes ZERO sense. Don't believe me? I'll show you.
Defined, try means to make an attempt or effort to do something.
Let's use them in some sentences, shall we?
- I will try to grab the pencil.
- I will try NOT to eat that cookie.
- I will try to lose weight.
- I will try to eat the salad.
- I will try to show up to work.
You see how it doesn't work? "Try" is a term we have imbedded in our vocabulary to give ourselves an out. It's a way to give ourselves permission to NOT reach our potential. It's a way to give ourselves the "Aw, that's ok," speech when we don't go all in.
Harsh? Maybe. But stick with me here.
When you grab a pencil, you literally GRAB the pencil. How did you "try" to grab it?
When you don't eat the cookie, you make a conscious decision to NOT eat the cookie, therefore, you don't "try," you just "do." Does this make sense?
Here's my point. You either DO or you DO NOT. There are few cases where "try" is an acceptable term to use, but in most cases, it's no good.
Now that I got that off my chest, I'd like to challenge you. The next time you catch yourself using "try" in a statement, stop and quickly ask yourself why you used it. Let's take it a step further: catch yourself but then restate it with "I am..." or "I will..." or "I did..." It will feel different. I daresay it might even feel scary because you just made a conscious decision to take ownership of your decision AND of the outcome. Good stuff, huh?
Change it up. You'll empower yourself. Trust me on this one. Delete "try" from your vocabulary and you'll be unstoppable.