Today is Star Wars Day and I’ve had Star Wars on my mind. I dressed my son in a Grogu (“baby Yoda”) shirt and have my own “Mamalorian” shirt on. If I were still teaching elementary music, today would be filled with Star Wars games, listening to music from the movies, watching various YouTube clips. Fun times. It’s nice having a universal theme on a day like today. That is definitely one of the elementary school vibes I miss.
So, instead, I sit in my Star Wars t-shirt contemplating one of the most iconic pieces of dialogue from the Star Wars franchise: “Do. Or do not. There is no try.” For those of you who have not seen Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (there is no shame in that!), Jedi Master Yoda (the old green dude) is training his new student Luke Skywalker (a young Mark Hamil). He needs to get his X-wing out of a murky swamp in order to save his friends. Yoda prompts him to use the Force to move the starship, and Luke says to his teacher, somewhat reluctantly “All right. I’ll give it a try.”
Yoda in turn responds with: “No! Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try.” So Luke tries. And fails. What happened? And more importantly, why is Luke not supposed to try? Shouldn’t he be getting more encouraging words from his teacher?
We’ve all been there on some level. Wanting to accomplish something, meet a specific goal, complete something that feels incredibly daunting. We “try”. But what if “trying” isn’t good enough? When Luke said he would give it a try, based on his tone, body language and attitude, he didn’t really intend to give it is all. To give his best. To work on the highest level possible.
In this moment “trying” meant giving less than his best, or getting by on natural talent without working hard. Luke is strong in the Force, but he is also still learning, which leads to some frustration with his teacher and himself.
I think the message Yoda is trying to impart onto Luke is to do his best or don’t even bother. If you are not giving your all, then you aren’t putting your best foot forward. If you hope to achieve maximum results, you must give maximum effort. By trying (in this context), Luke is giving himself permission to fail. It’s an excuse not to work hard.
What is something you have been “trying” to do and not giving your all? What if you did something different?
“Do. Or do not. There is no try.”
~Yoda
May the Force be with you.