It has only recently been brought to my attention that Yoda’s famous quote has been misinterpreted or at the very least, misunderstood.
“Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.”
A quick Google search shows some interesting interpretations of Yoda’s famous quote:
“If you don’t try, then how can you ever do? Who can be perfect at anything the first time they try?”
“There’s no such thing as trying. You either do it or you fail.”
“Don’t just try, either do something or don’t even start.”
“Don’t try to do something. You either do it or you don’t. So it’s like yes or no, not maybe.”
“Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are correct.”
That last quote is the closest to how I’ve always interpreted Yoda’s statement. It has more to do with belief, with the spiritual, rather than the mental or physical. In fact, faith might be a better word than belief because faith prompts more action, more conviction. The dictionary defines faith as:
So when Yoda is asking Luke to do or do not, he is saying that he has to believe completely in the force. By Luke saying he’ll try, he is admitting he still has doubts about the power of the force. He is unsure if he can accomplish the task Yoda has given him because his faith is not pure.
He hasn’t conquered his fear. He hasn’t given himself completely over to the force. His mind is not prepared for the task he is to accomplish. He even says after he fails to lift the X-Wing from the swamp, “you want the impossible.”
To my point, after Yoda guides the X-Wing out of the swamp, Luke walks up to Yoda and says:
“I don’t believe it.” – Luke“That is why you fail.” – Yoda
The lesson to be learned here is that no matter what we want to accomplish in life, the power of positive thinking, whole-hearted effort, unflinching resolve, and mental focus are absolutely required to do something great instead of just trying to do it.
I love the point about doing despite doubts, not as if one does not experience doubt. Reading this also reminded me of something my dad has told me, to just decide once you’re going to do something ongoing, like writing XX number of words per day or going to the gym. Don’t keep deciding each day, depending on how you feel. Decide once that that’s what you do. Great post!
Love it. Decide once to do something hard and then stick with that decision to do something. Don’t keep questioning or you’ll find excuses and justifications for not doing it. Awesome advice from your dad.