About 3 years ago, my former company hired a new CEO. A man by the name of Brad Wise. In our first official company meeting, Brad put together this presentation about where the company is now and where we see it going in the future. The very last slide of this presentation had a picture of Yoda, the Jedi Master from Star Wars, and next to the picture was this quote, “Do or do not… there is no try.” I love this quote, and just this season I integrated it into my high school team’s dynamic. So often my players will say things like “I Can’t” or “I’m Trying”, but in all reality they just do not want to do the task. I am already seeing a change in my players…they are working hard not to say those things and improving every day.
What does this mean?
After a bit of research I found out that there are a lot of great minds that think that “trying” is often times associated with negative things, and that the stone cold hard reality is that when you are “trying” you are not “doing”. And what does it mean to “try”. When we “try” a new food, aren’t we in fact eating it? When we “try” a new activity, aren’t we actually doing it? What purpose does trying have other then being an excuse not TO DO? The truth is, “trying” serves no real purpose. There is only DOING and NOT DOING.
How can we use this to help our loved ones?
Our loved ones are battling a deadly disease and they need to fight with every ounce of their being. “Trying” will get them nowhere fast. They need to decide that they must DO whatever it takes no matter how hard, no matter how mundane. “Trying” and “Not Doing” are not options. To beat Breast Cancer, our loved ones need to be Doers.
What is “Doing”?
“Doing” can mean any number of things:
- Studying and researching EVERYTHING about the disease. Become an expert.
- Making sure you understand the medications that are entering your body.
- Eating the right foods.
- Exercise.
- Meditation.
- Helping others with the disease.
- Staying positive.
- Raising awareness, raising funds.
The Moral
It’s pretty simple….Yoda lived a lot longer then most humans. I mean, I know he is a fictional character, but in the Star Wars fantasy world he lived a very long time. Yoda was a Doer…and we need to coach our loved ones to be Doer’s.
