We've been going through some changes at work lately, and I have to say I don't always deal with the stress well. In fact, I fail at that a lot of the time. I should be a more positive source of energy for my department, but it's hard to be positive for me even at the best of times. I'm like that old man in every old movie who was always carrying his umbrella because the weatherman said it would be clear skies. I try to be positive, but like Yoda said, "Do. Or do not. There is no try."
The thing about that line that has always bothered me is how will you ever know if you can do it if you don't try? I understand what was really being said there- "Luke, stop being a self defeatist whiny farm boy and believe in yourself." Not quite as quotable but a much better sentiment in my opinion. Saying "do or do not" sounds like "you're either going to do it or fail" and who needs that kind of pressure? This is why Obi-Wan was always my favorite.
Look at that...he even reads. (go to www.alastore.ala.org to buy one!)
Failure is always an option, and it is one that no one feels comfortable about, but at some point we all fail and that's how we learn and grow. We hate to fail because the first thing we in this society do is pick on other people's failures to distract others from noticing our own. Darth Vader chokes the life out of his subordinates when they fail so they can't throw it in his face that he killed his wife by accident (don't get me started). It's all about learning from your mistakes and failures and being a better person for it. Why Yoda didn't tell Luke that I'll never understand. Granted, Luke's failures could have meant the doom of the entire galaxy, but the guy was from a ball of sand about as far from the center of the universe as you could get. That's like telling a sixteen year old from Nebraska he is responsible for taking down an oppressive foreign government on the other side of the world all by himself. Baby steps, people. Baby steps.
Charlie Chaplin once said, "Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself." Now, if you ask me, that's the guy I want in my corner. Understanding. Clear. And able to make me laugh with more than just his impossibly proper diction.
I fail all the time with my diabetes. I try a new basal setting on my pump and either go high or low. I misjudge how much I eat and end up feeling like ick because my blood sugar skyrockets. I forget to eat after I bolus because I'm distracted by something and then wonder half an hour later why I'm a sweaty, cranky, blurry mess. It happens. And if I spent all my time worrying about those failures, I'd never learn from them. I try, I fail, I try again...and then maybe I do it.
So there, Yoda.
Ha! Loved the post.
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