Yoda's Key Piece Of Advice Was Wrong

Someone once said that the greatest defeat anyone could ever experience is not believing enough in themselves to at least try. However, depending upon where we look, it seems that we now live in a time where trying doesn’t seem to be acceptable.

In the 1980 movie Stars Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda said, "Do or do not; there is no try."

Yoda was cultivating a specific attitude, and while it may seem like a wise sentiment from an 800-year-old being, is it really sage advice?

Such a quote tends to lead us to believe that there is no merit in trying; that trying offers us nothing more than a fleeting moment to occupy an idle mind with no follow through or benefits for success.

Is it worth it to try something you're not sure you'll be able to do?

The power of giving it the "old college try" is often overlooked or dismissed these days and is even perceived by some as a complete waste of time. It appears we have fallen into a society where a four-hour work week is sought after, where less is more, and the mentality of "why even bother" has taken a strangling grip.

Yet without trying, we can never do anything. We all have heard: “You never know unless you try.” Without trying, our world would have been at a standstill centuries ago. On the flip side, you may also have heard that “Trying is lying”, alluding to the fact that you either do something or don’t do it and that trying is just an illusion.

Trying tends to be underrated by those who potentially fear challenges, setbacks, and making mistakes. Yet, mistakes are nothing more than steps to success. By putting one foot in front of the other, there is always the chance that we may stumble on occasion. But never taking a step leaves us in the same spot forever. Things never change, and growth never happens. We stand still. A rolling stone gathers no moss, and trying does help roots to grow.

Edison made 9,999 unsuccessful attempts to produce the light bulb as we know it today. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, lost over 300 basketball games, and missed over 9000 shots, yet he is still revered as one of the greatest players ever to have step on the court.

Elvis Presley was fired from the Grand Ole Opry along with the advice to go back to being a truck driver. KFC's Colonel Sanders was turned down 1,000 times before finding a franchise partner. Walt Disney was fired for lack of imagination. Can you imagine what the world would be like if these individuals and many others decided not to try?

Trying has merit. It's the special ingredient that makes doing something even more worth it. Trying is the glue that keeps it all together and fosters contagious success. Trying changes the now and the future. Without trying, there is no doing. We had to have tried something first. What will you try today?

Pamela Aloia is a certified grief coach, intuitive/medium, and author of inspirational books. Pamela supports people through change and helps them enhance their lives and experiences via energy awareness, meditation, and mindfulness.