Are you a tryer?

Are you someone who thinks that they will try to achieve something?

Someone who says they will try when presented with a challenge?

Or are you someone who says “I will”

“Trying is lying. There is no such thing as trying. You do
it or you don’t. You get results in life or you have
excuses why you didn’t. When people say,
‘I’ll try,’ they usually mean, ‘I’m not
going to do it now.’”

Dick Sutphen: Psychic researcher and author and speaker on hypnotherapy

Next time you find yourself saying, or thinking, “I will try”, stop for a moment and examine how you feel. Have a careful think about your attitudes. I bet you won’t be feeling confident. As a habit, change your thoughts and words to “I will” and see how much better you feel, how much more confident. Notice how people treat you differently. And enjoy.

Can you honestly say that you enjoy being a ‘tryer’. ‘Tryer’ is another word for an ‘also ran’.

I recall, many years ago, when Margaret Thatcher, a former British Prime Minister, was interviewed on TV by a journalist concerning the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Isles in 1982. She was asked about the possibility of defeat. There was actually a very real risk of defeat – we (British) were sending a task force half way around the world to dislodge an enemy in prepared entrenched defensive positions not far from their homeland. They (Argentina) had land based air support. We had just limited numbers of Royal Navy Harrier fighter jets and a few long range bombers which had to fly an 8000 mile round trip. In some peoples’ minds our war was lost before it started.

Margaret Thatcher replied without any hesitation; exclaiming that there was absolutely no possibility of defeat and that she had utmost confidence in the abilities of our armed forces. As it turned out, she was correct. But just imagine how the armed forces might have felt if she had been doubtful. If she had been someone with a ‘tryer’ mentality.

Wars, and the eventuating casualties, are things to be avoided if at all possible, however there are times when an aggressor cannot be removed except with force. Word War 2 is a classic example. During the Falklands War there were many individual acts of heroism and selfless sacrifice and one which is relevant to the concept of this blog post is that of Lt Colonel H Jones. VC, commanding officer of 2 PARA (2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment). If you wish you can read about what he died doing, not trying, here. Bear in mind that the Parachute Regiment is one of the British Army’s crack units and even their advance was in danger of faltering under the deadly Argentine defensive fire; until Colonel Jones took drastic action. His actions and death means many things to different people, however he is a classic example of someone who decided to do. An ‘I will try” mentality blows with the wind. There is nothing solid to it. It certainly does not produce courage. We can learn a great deal from Lt Colonel Jones, and others like him, regardless of our politics, religion, or views on war. (For those interested in technicalities – 2 Para only had supporting artillery fire from their own mortar crews and due to bad weather, no air support).

Related posts:

1. Are you a ‘lucky moaner’?
2. Inspiring example of positive thinking
3. Pity parties – whatever you do, don’t arrange one!
4. Why I love being criticized.
5. Recipe for powerful, living knowledge.