Stop Trying; Start Doing!

(assuming no mental or physical impairment exists) Have you ever tried to pick up a pencil? What about trying to drink a glass of water? How about trying to punch in the ten digits of a phone number to call your friend on your cell? There was a point when you stopped thinking about ‘thinking about’ doing all of these three simple tasks and you did it, correct? You have probably done these tasks over and over again many times and have developed such a confidence in doing them that, if you stop to think about it, you did think about doing them at all; you just did it, right? And guess what? You were confident in the knowledge that when you did it, the experience and the result was going to be a positive one.

Why? Look at these tasks. I seriously doubt that you went to a seminar or lecture to learn how to do any of them or talked to your family and friends about how to do them. You didn’t hire a big consulting company to tell you what the recent trends were with performing these tasks, the pros and cons of doing them and how to do them quicker, faster, better… and… (more importantly) you didn’t “what if “ yourself to death before doing any of them.

This “trying” bit has cost us plenty, on a personal level and as a society. We’ve accepted the notion that “trying” is better than not doing anything at all. We pat people on the back and say, “well, you gave it a good try” as a gesture of support and encouragement. If these well meaning people really had your best interests at heart with supporting you in something you really wanted to do, why don’t they pat you on their back and say “well you gave it a good try, now let’s DO it this time.” nn…I am not talking about the things you really can’t do (like defying the laws of physics or something ). I’m talking about…

How many times have you promised someone that you were going to try to visit them when they were really down and you never got around to doing it?

How many times were you going to try to learn how to swim but you never made the call to find out what time the pool opened or what time lessons started?

How many times were you going to try to read a book when you had the time or were going to try to go take a walk in the park when you had the day off or were going to try to look up that long lost classmate on one of those people networks when you joined that network?

Do you realize how much you’re cheating yourself and others by not just following through and DOING these things vs. TRYING. Aren’t you tired of using that ole fall back excuse position of , “I’m going to try.” You should be. We certainly are.

Realize that DOING something means that your making a commitment to someone or something. There, it’s out; the big “C” word. This word seems to strike fear in the hearts and souls of the (ahem) bravest and the strongest. If you don’t feel you’re worth making commitments to yourself, then how are you going to get beyond the wimpy “I’ll try” posture you’ve adopted? Why be so uncomfortable with the big “C” word and so comfortable with the “F” word; failure. We’re not talking about failure in terms of not being able to find the next black hole in space or a cure for Alzheimer’s. We’re talking about becoming comfortable with doing-turned-to-eventually-success because you’ve become too comfortable with trying.nn…when you pick up that penciln…when you drink that glass of watern…when you call your friend on you cellnn…you simply make a decision and you do it. That’s it. That’s all there is to it. (Psssst. Hey! A secret here…THAT’S ALL THERE HAS EVER BEEN TO IT!!! You commit to doing things every day and guess what? You’re still here! You make these commitments to yourself and others every day and you haven’t been tortured or vaporized. You’re still alive and well to do what? DO…not TRY... something else. (What a concept!)

So become comfortable with the “C” word and drop your “F” word security blanket, starting today…hey…how about even starting right now? Is that too scary of a thought for you…to much change all at one time? Tough, deal with it. It’s not as difficult as you’re making it out to be. You commit and do things all the time and don’t give it a second thought. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to achieve this level of decision making, commitment and doing all the time? How much a positive difference in your life would it make to you to be operating at this level all the time with out the “what ifs” “shoulds” or “trys” getting in your way? How much of a positive difference could you be making with others doing the things you said you’d do for them or with them vs. TRYING to do them?

Star with yourself, start today, start now. nn(When you are beset with a moment of ‘trying’ weakness or relapse, look at your Nike affirmation and follow the instructions…)n