Do, or do not; there is no try

 

I’m sure there are very few of you who don’t know where this little line comes from. In fact, I think this may be among one of the most famous quotes of all time. I know it was very well known and very well used in our home, at least. Of course, that’s not the point that I’m getting at here.

 

I think that many people misunderstand this quote, and although I don’t consider a fictional alien character from a sci-fi movie to be the best source of wisdom for life, I think there is a lesson here for everyone. Many people take this quote to mean that there really is no such thing as trying, because you will either succeed or fail at every endeavor that you undertake. So when Yoda tells Luke this, it seems like he is telling him to have confidence and just succeed, instead of doubting his own abilities. I think there is a lot of merit to this, but I also think there is a deeper message here, one that can apply to everyone.

 

What I believe Yoda was trying to tell Luke is that Luke already had all of the power and skills inside of him, and all he really needed to do was just do it. He already had the ability and power to get that ship out of the swamp; he just didn’t believe in himself, and therefore had to “try” to do so. Yoda was disappointed in Luke because Luke thought that the ship was too big and therefore he wasn’t strong enough to lift it out of the water. His own mind was his worst enemy, as was shown by the ever-confusing incident where Luke kills Darth Vader only to find that the man in the suit was himself. Anyway, I’m getting side-tracked here.

 

If you’ll permit me one more sci-fi reference, I promise I’ll bring this whole thing back into real life.

 

A less well known, and yet just as powerful quote concerning this idea comes from the first Matrix movie. Neo is being trained by Morpheus, and is told, “Stop trying to hit me and just hit me!”

 

 

In this instance, just as with Yoda and Luke, Morpheus is trying to teach Neo that he has all of the abilities that he needs. Neo, of course, doesn’t really catch on to this concept until the end of the movie, but once he rids himself of his inhibitions and just acts, he realizes that there is nothing he can’t do.

 

Luke, by the same token, does not become a real Jedi until he lets go of his fears and self-inflicted restrictions and rids himself of the notion that he “can’t” do something. That is the point where both heroes begin to realize their full potential.

 

Ok I apologize for that, but I think it does a good job of illustrating my point. In life, too many times we try to do things that we are already perfectly capable of doing. Sometimes we try and be a different person than we are, only to find out that we already are the person that we’re trying to be.

 

Stop trying and just do or don’t.

 

That’s my point.

 

Do or don’t do, there is no try.

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