Have You Ever Really Tried?

I was lying in bed this morning, thinking about the text I received right before falling asleep. It read "I'll will try and make it there early".

Huh, I will "try"!  Boy, do I have issue with the word "try". It comes across as non-committal, wishy-washy, half-hearted, doubtful, and lacking in belief.  I learned this first hand from a very wise teacher years ago.

There I was sitting in a group of about 30 people and the group leader asked me something (what it was I don't recall and it doesn't really matter).   My response was "ok, I'll try".   She obviously didn't like that response and asked me to come to the front of the group, sit in a chair and instructed me to try and stand up.  I just stood up with a smirk on my face.  She said "no, sit back down and try to stand up".  I looked at her now with a  puzzled look on my face, sat down and stood back up.  "NO" she said "sit back down and TRY to stand up".  Now I am sitting down "trying" to stand up, tensing and straining my muscles, looking like a fool amusing the group.  Then I "got" it!  My only options were to sit or stand.  You either do it (commit) or don't do it.  The choice is yours and that's where your power lies-not floundering around somewhere in the abyss.