May the Fourth Be With You

 

I do not pretend to be an authority on Star Wars. At all. One Halloween I dressed up as C3PO, but once my foil fell off that was pretty much it in terms of me paying any real attention to the legendary movies.

However, today is Star Wars Day, May 4, and I would be remiss if I did not use this space to look at some timeless quotes from tiny, wise, pointy-eared, Yoda. A Master of few words, was he, but this makes me think he would have killed it on Twitter … or made a nice retirement out of writing Chinese fortunes for cookies. Let’s take a look at some of Yoda’s well known sayings:

“Truly wonderful the mind of a child is.”

“You must unlearn what you have learned.”

“When nine hundred years old you reach, look as good you will not.”

His words are simple, true, and when you put most of them in Object Subject Verb order, they seem to carry a weight they didn’t have before. Something about them makes us sit up and pay attention, nod our heads, and think about the meaning behind the sayings just a little longer.

But my favorite Yoda quote is one I just became aware of a few years ago. I know, I know, the Star Wars Fan Club is rolling their eyes right now because they already know what it is, but this one line went a long way toward helping me get rid of a useless word in my vocabulary:

“Do. Or do not. There is no try.”

There is no try. There is only do. Or do not.

How many times have I used the word try? I’m trying to exercise more. I’m trying to write every day. I’m trying to be a better wife/mother/friend.

There is only do. Or do not. There is no try.

Am I exercising more? Yes. Am I writing every day? No. Am I a better wife/mother/friend? Well … you’ll have to ask my husband/kids/friends.

The word “try” can be a bit of a cop out. It’s non-committal. Oh sure, it has its place — but it doesn’t deserve to make as many appearances as it does. Are you trying to take up jogging? Or are you jogging? Are you trying to pursue that dream you have, or are you doing it?

Think about dropping the word “try” from your vocabulary. Jesus never told people to “try” to forgive someone or “try” to love their neighbors. He said, Do it! When you make a conscious choice to stop “trying,” you will probably experience a mental shift toward whatever it was you were thinking about. Either you will make the thing happen … or you will decide it’s really not worth the effort and you’ll free up time for other things.

So stop trying. Only do. Or do not. And may the Force be with you.