{"id":2815,"date":"2017-12-09T12:57:19","date_gmt":"2017-12-09T18:57:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rctc.edu\/echo\/?p=2815"},"modified":"2025-02-13T11:05:13","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T17:05:13","slug":"yoda-and-nike-got-it-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/yoda-and-nike-got-it-right\/","title":{"rendered":"Yoda and Nike got it right"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lydia Hansen
\n<\/b>Editor-in-chief\n<\/p>\n

For many, a college career is basically a hunt for wisdom, knowledge, and truth. (Also free pizza.) The greatest truth of my college career is best summed up in the words of a well-known life coach and diplomat: none other than Jedi Master Yoda.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo, or do not. There is no try.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

I used to believe in trying. Trying was what it meant when I put some effort into my actions and made a good attempt. I tried<\/i> to get a job. I tried<\/i> to write a blog and a newspaper column and graduate high school with a perfect GPA.<\/p>\n

Some of that worked out-I have four jobs right now and I\u2019m still blogging. But when I earned my first B in high school, I wasn\u2019t very worried. Why?<\/p>\n

Because I had tried. I had put in some effort. And I thought that was good enough.<\/p>\n

But as Yoda said, \u201cThere is no try.\u201d The concept of trying is an excuse, an easy way out of committing to success.<\/p>\n

Trying is fine for things you don\u2019t really care about, like adventurous new foods or activities. Trying is great when you want to explore or just dip your toes. But when it involves things important to you, never fool yourself into believing that trying is good enough. You have to take Nike\u2019s slogan to heart and \u201cJust do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Yoda

Yoda with Basketball<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cJust do it\u201d is my college motto. Where trying fails me, doing never does. I no longer try<\/i> to pass my classes or get that job or internship I want. I\u2019ve stopped allowing myself the option of failing at what I care about.<\/p>\n

Of course, I understand that no one can approach every single thing in life with a \u201cJust do it\u201d attitude without burning out. You have to choose your battles, prioritize what you\u2019ll try and what you\u2019ll do. I do<\/i> school because I care about it deeply. I\u2019m paying $5,000 for this education. I can\u2019t afford to do less than succeed.<\/p>\n

Teachers respect students who put in the effort and make an attempt to finish assignments. They understand that not every student will love the subject they\u2019re teaching or care about it. But \u201cputting in the effort\u201d is still just trying. Doing, as Yoda and Nike recommend, is different. It requires commitment and dedication.<\/p>\n

Saying \u201cI\u2019ll try\u201d requires very little effort and gives you an easy way out when you fail. Saying \u201cI\u2019ll try\u201d shows that you don\u2019t believe you\u2019ll succeed. But when you say \u201cI\u2019ll do it,\u201d you\u2019re making a promise to yourself to commit like crazy and make it happen.<\/p>\n

Triers are everywhere. Doers are the ones who stand out. Doers have identified their priorities and committed themselves to seeing them through. This attitude helps them succeed in school, in the workplace, and in their relationships.<\/p>\n

I thank RCTC\u2019s excellent communication department (and in particular, instructors Annie Clement and Taresa Tweeten) for showing the importance of commitment in relationships. Telling a significant other you\u2019ll try to be there for the next date is a good way to lose his or her trust. That\u2019s why people commit. They say they will be there, and do what needs to be done.<\/p>\n

These same principles apply to work, school, and everything else one does. Doers don\u2019t accept a C when they could have gotten an A. Doers don\u2019t settle for a job that doesn\u2019t fulfill them or doesn\u2019t get them one step closer to where they hope to someday be. They don\u2019t accept \u201cI tried\u201d as an excuse for not being there yet.<\/p>\n

Yoda and Nike got it right. If there\u2019s something you want, and if you want it badly enough, you\u2019ll find a way. You will do it.<\/p>\n

Or you\u2019ll find an excuse. And excuses are what we call trying.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“For many, a college career is basically a hunt for wisdom, knowledge, and truth. (Also free pizza.) The greatest truth of my college career can be summed up in the words of a well-known life coach and diplomate: Jedi Master Yoda.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2815\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rctc.edu\/echo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}