Counterpoint: Yoda’s Famous “No Try” Quote is Garbage
There is nothing more cliché than sharing words of wisdom from a 1980s fictional movie character. Particularly, when those words of wisdom are a paradox of psychological self-help garbage. You probably know who I’m talking about at this point.
Yes, everyone’s favorite fictional mentor from Star Wars, the loveable Yoda. The quote in question is his most famous:
Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try.
I must confess, I was one of those guys who loved using Yoda’s words as a pithy little maxim. However, the problem is that this is not a maxim, just like Yoda is not a real person, just like quoting fictional movie characters is not sharing wisdom.
A maxim is a short statement that summarizes a rule of thumb that is time tested. Telling someone to “do” instead of to “try” may sound good, but it’s paradoxical and condescending. The truth is doing and trying imply the same process that may or may not have the same outcome. But in Yoda’s case he is demanding his student to control the outcome using the “Force”.
In real life, however, expecting to control the outcome is a recipe for egotism. The only thing you can control in real life is the process. Moreover, controlling the process is both the process of doing and trying, which makes Yoda’s quote a paradox. True wisdom is to eliminate this paradox.
So, instead of quoting a fictional character, I suggest quoting non-fictional Stoic philosophers who share real maxims that have been time tested for over 2000 years. Specifically in this case, I recommend replacing Yoda with Marcus Aurelius.
The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.