what is the point of trying?

what is the point of trying?

I hear people say this a lot. including me

what is the point of trying something you know you are not very good at? there are so many other people much better than you at it. you are going to fail in the end anyway

yes. that is true

and no.

you don't try because you think you are going to succeed right away

you try because that's what you need to do to be slightly better at the thing you wanna do

think about this.

what is the point of going to school? specifically – higher education. like getting a degree

you want to learn, educate yourself, be better at what you do, blah blah blah

but most importantly, you do it for the money.

having a degree will allow you to make more money than without, when you get a job eventually

so you put yourself through school. countless of hours of studying. doing things you hate doing. like memorising the whole textbook. but you do it. because that's what you gotta do to get there

so think about this.

do you get paid immediately to score well for that exam?

do you get paid immediately for all those hours you put in to study?

no.

because it doesn't work like that.

it takes time. to try. before you get there eventually

you probably don't even understand half the shit you're studying for the first year or two. but eventually you start to know more and understand it better

that's the same concept with life.

you hold yourself back from trying because you're afraid you won't get it right the first time

and you know what? you're right

you are not going to get it right the first time

just like you don't graduate with a degree after you pass your first test 

the whole point of trying is to be better than who you were without trying

and maybe with enough tries, you will eventually be good at it

but it takes time. and a lot of tries


98 comments

  • nila

    Thank you so much. This is just what i wanted to hear. Thank you for existing 🥺🌻💗

  • June

    I have to agree on the part where you mentioned “you don’t try because you think you are going to succeed right away // you try because that’s what you need to do to be slightly better at the thing you wanna do” This reminds me of the interview I went for SQ. There is not much advice and guidelines out there stating what kind of cabin crew they are looking for. It’s only by going for the interviews, again and again, to gain experience and to find out what they are looking for just to get the job. How often do we get a job just by the 1st interview we go for? And I believe it’s the same for all jobs out there, and even being a parent. Nobody knows how to be the best parent from the start. They only get better with the 2nd, and then 3rd kid (if there is). Nonetheless, this entry serves as a good reminder of the current state of life I’m in at work. Thank you! :)

  • kaz

    wth ron this is sooooooo timely with how thinga are for me. in a few weeks i’ll be staring my senoir year in college and I’ve only been doubting more and more about my capabilities.

  • noabaguava

    there was one thing that i really wanted to try for a few years
    for that, i bought the essential gear about a year ago, installed a few programs,
    and with one more thing, i may be able to actually give it a shot

    but “is it worth doing it” was the exact thought i had on the way because there were so many other people who excelled at it
    “nobody’s going to care about what i do” led to “what’s the point of doing it?”
    then i gave up, left the thought behind, and moved on with my mundane life

    but it kept coming back from time to time, and today, i decided that i will give it a try by july at the latest
    then i received your email

    reading through your perfectly timely email, i paused a bit at this line:

    “you try because that’s what you need to do to be slightly better at the thing you wanna do”

    and then i repeated the sentence to myself again, with little modifiers:

    “i try because that’s what i need to do to find little joys for myself”

    so yes to trying so that i get better at the thing i want to do
    but yes also to trying so that i make myself a bit more joyful

    and yes to trying even if getting better at it in the long run is not going to bring me money

    thanks for encouraging your readers to share the honest thoughts
    i love that i can express it here
    and i love receiving your emails

    bye now!

    - claire

  • Aaliya (@aaliyasheikh29)

    Mostly we’re just afraid to try because we think we might lose but what we don’t get is if we don’t try we’ll never know what it is like or what all it takes. And that little courage can literally be the turning point.


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