Master Yoda (our little green friend from Star Wars) said something to Luke Skywalker in Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.
He said: “try not, do or do not”. Luke was ‘trying’ to lift his aircraft using his Jedi powers, and he failed.
If you are a NLP Practitioner, you know about the power of words.
The words ‘try’ and ‘do’ have an neurological effect to the brain and to some micro-muscles in our body that impact your performance when you do anything.
But There’s More to It Spiritually
When I “try” to make a mental action or verbal action or physical action, the mind doesn’t believe (or have confidence) that what I am about to do is going to work.
When I “do” and make mental action or verbal action or physical action, the mind isn’t concerned about belief but rather concentrates on what I am about to do in the present moment.
No belief makes you a skeptic. Skeptical about:
- Yourself
- Your method (or the mechanics of it)
- The ones who gave this method
When you have skepticism, your mind can’t concentrate.
When you can’t concentrate, you can’t focus.
When you can’t focus, then you’re out of balance.
When you’re out of balance, then you can’t stand on your own two feet.
When you can’t stand on your own two feet then you fall.
The power of words is just one domain to enter into your heart and soul. The essential core of your being is to get rid of skepticism and gain concentration.
Rather than say to yourself that “I can do it”, or “I will do my best”, try to get rid of skepticism and gain full concentration of your mind in the moment. And then you can do your best at your best performance without even trying.
Skepticism is your foe, drive away from it.
Concentration is your friend, stick with it.
How? By meditation. Close your eyes right now, and stay with the moment by observe your breath for 5 minutes. Then continue to surf with the power of concentration.
‘Try’ or ‘do’ doesn’t matter now when you have the power of concentration.
Close your eyes and do it now 
Editor’s Note: I’ve cleaned up some of Paiboon’s text and added a clip of the famous Yoda scene to help refresh your memory
June 17th, 2008 at 7:10 am
Sound advice from Yoda. For me, try is a problem, I have been trying to diet and trying to get into an exercise routine and trying to get in better shape and trying this and trying that.
The problem is that for all my “trying”, I am not really doing. So, after reading your post, I have decided to “do”. To make me accountable to me. I started by joining SparkPeople.com to track my journey towards doing rather than trying.
June 17th, 2008 at 10:44 am
Hurey.. John.. go ahead and do it with full concentration. I myself was 106Kgs and now 69Kgs. Try Not, Do or Do Not.
June 18th, 2008 at 11:36 am
Awesome post. Yoda was a very cool little alien… I wish we had more of his type on Earth. And you are exactly right- you have to believe in yourself to make something happen. For instance, right now I’m trying to buy some land to build a straw-bale house, but I just can’t get my mind around owning land at the age of 23.
Thanks and keep up the great posts.
Brad
http://www.iheartcoaching.com
June 18th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Thanks Paiboon for sharing! You’ve always been wise since the first day I met you, kinda “Yoda-like”. Your posts inspire me.
June 24th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
You’re welcome people
July 11th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Hi Paiboon. This is my first time reading one of your posts. I enjoy your writing style and your wisdom. I agree that concentration and staying in the moment is key taking action, especially when the action requires a person to stretch outside their comfort zone. By staying present in the moment, it prevents fearing what might happen (the future) or regretting what did happen (the past) and allows focus on the task at hand.