January 28, 2025

But I Want It

From Volume 10, Issue 6:Some positive thinking gurus disdain the concept of “wanting” things. They claim it only leaves a hole in one’s life that will never be filled. And Yoda said, “There is no try.”
I challenge both of those premises. First, nothing is ever accomplished or obtained if you don’t try to do so. So, following that logic, “do or do not” can’t even happen without someone first trying. Furthermore, I simply believe no aspiration is ever accomplished unless a significant amount of want is invested.

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Why I’m Going Against Yoda (and Mom, Dad, and Mrs. Merriwether)

From Volume 5, Issue 8:Occasionally I challenge the wisdom of the Jedis by claiming that Yoda’s famous quotation from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back—“Do or do not. There is no try”—is just not a productive attitude for most of us. Yoda’s words tell us that we should be able to step off cliffs and not plummet to our doom. Or drive a Rally Ford Fiesta in a World Rally Championship event and win. But if you buy into this thinking, you’re setting yourself up for a lifetime of frustration and feeling like a failure. There’s a better way to approach doing, and yes, Yoda, there is a try.

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