A Quick Rant on the Phrase “I’ll Try”
How can you expect to succeed if your own mind isn’t even on your side?
We’ve all heard it. We’ve definitely all said it before; I’ll try. I’ve grown to hate this phrase and it’s one of my least favorite next to the phrase “I don’t have time” (check out my post on that here). The phrase I’ll try is basically saying that you plan to fail. There’s no commitment behind those words.
If you think about it, whenever you truly want something you hold yourself accountable until you get it whether it’s graduating school, a promotion, learning a new skill, getting your crush’s attention, etc. You refuse to let failure be an option. It may take failing, a crazy amount of work, creativity, or even problem solving but you don’t stop until you win. Now take what your number one goal is now and put the emphasis of I’ll try behind it… it just feels wrong, doesn’t it?
You may be thinking to yourself right now, “is it that big of a deal?” or something along those lines. The short answer is yes! I’ll help you understand why in this post.
This phrase basically makes a blanket statement that you’ll put in some effort and most likely give up at the first sign of a roadblock. It invites this mentality of minimal effort if you even get around to “trying” in the first place. The most important thing to remember is that your mind is the most powerful thing that you can control. Saying this is like handicapping yourself before you even get started. Life’s difficult enough you don’t need your own mind rooting against your potential success. Control your thoughts and confidence and it’ll significantly increase your success rate.
Ultimately, if you think you can complete a challenge or task, you’re going to do it. On the flip side, if you think you can’t do it deep down, you’ll fail. If you struggle with confidence or believing in yourself, I recommend having a ‘fake it till you make it’ mentality. Who cares if you fall on your face and fail miserable. What’s important is how you respond to that or how you pick yourself back up.
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” -Nelson Mandela
Many people say I’ll try because they don’t know how to complete what’s being asked of them. For those that experience this I recommend asking “how can I?” or even “can you show me how?” Asking for help isn’t something to be ashamed of. If you have a boss, coach, teacher, mentor, etc. that’s worth a damn they should love to hear questions like this. I know I do.
Questions like this invite brainstorming and show a sense of caring because you want to make sure you succeed. When you succeed everyone else succeeds.
Change the Wording
I know it’s tough to break a habit like this but it’ll make a world of a difference. I’ve come up with a couple different phrases or questions that helped me in changing my mindset and I know they’ll do the same for you.
- I can do that.
- I’ll do that.
- No problem.
- For sure.
- Absolutely.
- Yes.
- Consider it done.
- Of course.
- I’ll do that right after _________.
- Can you show me how?
- How can I do that?
- Can you help with ________?
- What do you recommend?
- What’s your expert opinion?
In life it’s the little things that add up for the big picture. Stop subconsciously saying you plan to fail and start committing 100%. You can do it if you allow yourself to do so!
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Be great,
