“No! Try not! Do. Or do not. There is no try.”
Yes, I’m excited! Can’t wait to see the next Star Wars movie soon, so I’m catching up with the original series with my oldest daughter and then bam! A lesson by Yoda! In Star Wars V Empire Strikes Back, Yoda challenged Luke Skywalker to believe he could use the force to mentally pick up his spaceship from the swamp. Luke ‘tried’ but didn’t really think he could do it. So guess what? You got it. He didn’t do it.
Yoda was making a specific and really important point that we need to remember as leaders in our classrooms and schools. If we are just trying, then we are not really envisioning our success and therefore won’t achieve it. Even more so, as leaders, if we don’t convey this attitude to others, then they are likely only ‘trying’ to learn instead of actually learning.
Later in scene, when Yoda lifts the spaceship on his own, Luke says, “I don’t believe it.” Yoda replies, “That is why you fail.” Wow.
This is where VISION comes into play. SEE your goal in your mind so you KNOW what you are trying to achieve. BELIEVE it can happen. Have the attitude that you WILL DO IT. Not only will it help you focus and accomplish that goal, others will see that attitude in you and follow your lead. Confidence is contagious.
Nike tells us, “Just do it,” not just try it.
Think about your next goal in front of you. It could be working out more, reading a new book, or helping a child master a new skill in the classroom. If you tell yourself, “I’ll try to get it done,” you are fooling yourself. Do it or don’t do it. Make up your mind. Once you decide, put everything into that direction. Let it go or make it happen.
Trying is not doing, it’s just pretending.
Trying is not committing.
Trying is not believing.
How far are you willing to go to achieve your goals? We should see it in your eyes. You know that look. The look of someone who knows what they are going to do. That look conveys that it doesn’t matter what obstacles present themselves. It doesn’t matter what failures or setbacks occur along the way. This…is…going…to…happen.
Be confident. Believe in yourself. Do.
How are you going to bring this mindset to your next goal? To your students? How many students are just ‘trying’ instead of doing?
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