Jana Remy
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Jana Remy

  • Writing
    • Disability
    • Making History
    • Digital Humanities
      • dayofDH
    • Canoeing
    • Creative Nonfiction & Essays
    • Feminism
    • Bibliographies
      • Pacific Worlds Bibliography
    • Social Media
      • Mentions/Links
  • Scholarship
    • Awards/Fellowships
    • Conferences & Invited Talks
    • Collaboration
    • Workshops
    • Conference Planning
    • Technical Skills
  • Teaching
    • Blogposts About Teaching
“there is no try…”
deep thoughts

“there is no try…”

written by Jana September 8, 2011

Remember that classic scene from Star Wars, the one where Yoda explains to Luke how he should stop “trying,” because to “try” is to fail.  A refresher if it’s been awhile since you’ve seen that one:

Well I say: poppycock.

If there’s one thing I’m learning in my life right now is that there is plenty of trying. And there are failures and false starts and wasted efforts, too. And there is a lot more trying than there is success-ing.

Perhaps I’m just tired of the mindset that I’ve held for too long that if I do something, there is no room for failure. That just doesn’t hold true for me anymore and it’s not a lesson that I want to teach my kids, either.

I’m trying now–at so many things, knowing full well that I will fail…often.  I will fail more than I succeed.  And that’s okay (that’s more than okay, actually).

 

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8 comments

Marguerite September 8, 2011 - 8:27 am

Cool that you have a blog. My sister just started one too. Wish I had something of value to say to the cosmos.

Reply
Jana September 8, 2011 - 11:22 am

Maybe you could post pictures of your jewelry and talk about your creative efforts?

Reply
Kristen from MA September 8, 2011 - 11:29 am

I love jewelry, and would love to see Marguerite’s pictures.
:D

Reply
Ingrid September 8, 2011 - 10:18 am

Not my favorite later generation “thing” either! That you shouldn’t try things unless you want to do them and do them well. And that you will always succeed “if you put your mind to it.” Which, in education translates into students not wanting to try things or feel like actually learning because that means they somehow “failed” the first time around or that they don’t need what they don’t initially “like.” Or that “success” equals excelling, rather than simply understanding and utilizing. Wonderful post.

Reply
Jana September 8, 2011 - 11:24 am

Indeed, Ingrid. I hadn’t thought of it in the context of teaching, but I we definitely do a disservice to students if we don’t value their efforts (and their failures).

Reply
EBrown September 10, 2011 - 4:13 pm

It’s funny because this is one of my favorite bits from the Star Wars movies. I have strong perfectionist tendencies but what I got from this was not perfection but the acknowledgement that we only do what we really want to do. I was once at a retreat where several women in group at different times would say that they really wanted to meditate but they had to get coffee in the morning or they were too tired at night and that they tried to meditate but other things got it the way. Or like my colleague who said she wished she could make her bed everyday as I do, but other things got in the way. But to me it seemed that what they really wanted to do is to get coffee or watch tv; if they truly wanted to meditate they would have found a way to do. And if you want to make your bed it will get made. “There is no try”, is a way of saying don’t make excuses: it’s not a critique of the steps necessary to accomplish the act. Of course, your mileage may vary.

Reply
janaremy September 11, 2011 - 10:58 am

What you say rings true to me, too, Vajra. But maybe that’s why I think the trying is so important–because if you want a certain outcome, you’ve got to be willing to put in the effort. But I also think sometimes we need to separate ourselves from the outcome–and find that the trying can be part of the satisfaction of a goal.

Reply
EBrown September 11, 2011 - 12:03 pm

“A man’s reach should exceed his grasp, else what a Heaven for?”

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About Me

About Me

Hi there friend, and welcome to my blog. I started writing on the internet two decades ago. Since then I've started and finished a PhD program, left the Mormon church and became a Quaker, got divorced, remarried, found full-time work in academia, took up rock climbing and outrigger canoeing, and traveled across the globe (China! Belgium! Italy! Chicago! Montana! Portland! Gettysburg! and oh-so-many points in-between). This blog is eclectic and random--it has poetry and cooking and books. And cats. And flowers. And the ocean (my ocean). But in that sense it's a good reflection of me and my wide-ranging, far-reaching, magpie curiosity.

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