Commitment vs.Trying - Is Trying Lying?

Today I heard the saying "Trying is lying!"

It made me reflect back to earlier this year when I was lying in my hospital bed with two broken legs, a broken hip and a broken pelvis, injuries I had sustained in a motorcycle accident. After the surgeons had put my body back together, I was moved to a rehabilitation hospital, where I spent the next 4 ½ months learning how to walk again. This was an amazing facility designed to assist patients (many worse off than me), in adjusting to their new limitations. The goal was to assist us in finding strategies that were designed to help us continue to live a life worth living, despite these challenges.

Since I had sustained extensive orthopedic injuries, I required intensive physiotherapy.

Each morning, patients were expected to get dressed and wear their street clothes to physiotherapy, even though most of them would spend the remainder of their day in bed. It was part of the psychology to help us realize that we were not "sick:" but learning how to function again and look after ourselves.

The first time I went to physio, my physiotherapist Derek, asked me to move my leg. Now if you know me, (or are coached by me) you will know that a common theme I espouse is that of "I can't}". "I can't" and its cousin "I give up!" are two phrases that are not allowed in my vocabulary, and if I have any influence over you, it's not allowed in yours' either?smile!.

I looked down at my leg and counted myself lucky as I looked around the room at the other patients. They all seemed to be using a mixture of medieval looking contraptions that contorted their bodies in a way that I was sure was designed to increase pain and agony. I just had to move my leg.

I told my leg to move in the direction that Derek had just asked but it stayed put. "Wait a minute", I said to myself and I tried again, but it just wouldn't move. I tried concentrating harder, and even spoke the words aloud, but it still wouldn't change position. Frustrated now, I glared at this appendage that was betraying me, and found myself alternating between cajoling and cussing- all internal conversations of course. No amount of asking was making my leg budge! Derek my physiotherapist came by and with his hands on his hips and a smirk on his face said "come on Frankie, MOVE IT!" "You can do it!" Visibly upset now with tears of anger and discouragement streaming down my face, I cried out, "I'm trying", CAN'T YOU SEE THAT? "Well actually no, I can't" he said gently, "because I don't see your leg moving."

It was then that I had an epiphany, Trying is not good enough. Trying is actually NOT Doing! It is still "I can't" or "I won't". Another realization came to me as well, and that was I had a commitment, but it wasn't to what I thought.

I was committed to NOT moving my leg. For whatever reason, perhaps it was fear of pain, or maybe of finding out that I may never be able to move it, I just didn't want to do it. I am sure the "why" of it matter doesn't matter as much as asking the Powerful Question, "So what are you going to do about it?"

When I came to terms with that revelation, I knew I had a decision to make right then and there. Either I could continue to pretend to "try" and not move my leg, or I could be a Doer.

We have already established that I am not a quitter, I don't believe in I can't and I knew I hadn't survived the night of my accident to fail in my recovery, so there was only one option left, and that was to DO!! But what about that commitment, what was I to do with that?

That commitment was NOT serving me. I knew that, because I WANTED to walk again and making my leg to move, was the first step to that goal. So I took a deep breath, told myself one more time "you can do it" and looked down at my leg and said "move damn it".

Well son of a gun, didn't it just move a couple of inches! I was ecstatic!

Now to be honest, it didn't move far, but it did move. This was enough to prove to me it could be done.

Not only did I know that my leg was going to work again, I also knew what a powerful being lived inside me! This is not only true of me, but it is also true of you!

Each of us has the power to overcome the things we are committed to whether it be fear of flying or poor body image. No matter how long you have been living you're your commitment, you can change the terms anytime you want.

I invite you to look inside at some of the commitments that have not been serving you, and see if you are ready to change your perspective on any of them.

Now that you understand the difference between trying and doing, literally in the blink of an eye, you will be able to recognize your commitments and know how to change them. Just imagine the freedom of being able to DO anything you want.

The next time you hear yourself say I am trying, remember, to tell yourself you are lying!

If you want to stay committed to something then commit to being the best you can be! Thomas Merton said, "The biggest human temptation is to settle for too little."

An exercise to bring this point home is to sit in a chair and drop a pencil on the floor. Now then I want you to TRY to pick the pencil up. Did you pick the pencil up? You Did? Well then put it back because you weren't trying. Try again. Now I want you to TRY to pick the pencil up. Did you pick it up? NO? Then you weren't trying. You see you can either be committed to picking the pencil up and do, or be committed to leaving the pencil on the floor and not do, but you can't TRY to pick the pencil up!

Frankie Picasso, CPC LMT , is an Executive Business and Vision Coach and a Motivational Speaker, who loves to help people find their passion, path and purpose in Life. She has worked with both public and private sector organizations in the area of organizational wellness, alternative dispute resolution, sales and marketing, customer service and quality planning.The name of her company is Conversation with My Shoes and to find out more about her coaching, her speaking engagements , and her community involvement, please visit her website at http://www.conversationwithmyshoes.com

---

Have You Said Thank You Today?

'When it comes to life the critical thing is whether... Read More

2 Simple Ways To Cure Procrastination

Curing procrastination is not necessarily about will power or forcefully... Read More

Choosing Your Vision

There is a new television show, called Blind Justice that... Read More

Success: Its Really Pretty Simple

From the 'What You Need to Succeed' SeriesEvery once in... Read More

Do We Have Free Will?

It is being suggested here that we have only one... Read More

Your Growing Edge

You've probably heard the term "leading edge" used to refer... Read More

17 More Things Ive Noticed Along the Way So Far

Three areas of life in which we get very little... Read More

Training Your Mind to Help You

Our friend, singer and songwriter Chuck Pyle, likes to say,... Read More

Wisdom Comes to the Inquisitive Mind

Throughout my life I have observed many things and I... Read More

Ten Sure-Fire Rules To Put Old On Hold By At Least 25 Years

Would you like to feel and function like age 40... Read More

A Formula For Improved Achievement

Your ability to perform in life is determined by a... Read More

A Surfing Lesson

I've never surfed in my life. Sometimes people tell me... Read More

What Being Vs Doing Really Means

So often we hear about "being" rather than "doing." Often... Read More

Death by Overwork: Motivationally Speaking Its a Zero

The Japanese have a word for death by overwork: Karoshi.... Read More

Creativity Management ? Productivity As A Job

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

Facing Our Fears

'You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in... Read More

Extreme Makeover ? Compliments of Me

There is a fascination these days with reality shows that... Read More

The Top 10 Ways to Overcome Procrastination

When a person is bored or uninterested, certain tasks and... Read More

The Seven Keys to Motivation

Motivation. It's a complicated subject that is studied by many... Read More

When Do You Enjoy Things the Most?

It's a very strange concept. When you are in a... Read More

Is Your Passion Fizzling Out?

Starting a business or project is one thing, keeping it... Read More

How to Take Your Stalled Projects to the Finish Line

Q. I have several projects going at once -- but... Read More

Get Started! Do Something!

This is about getting started. Taking that first step. It... Read More

Motivation: 3 Suggestions for Living a Life of Purpose, On Purpose

"There's so many roads that seem, To lead down to... Read More

Motivation: Good Luck or Bad Luck, Too Soon to Tell

As the story goes, there was once a farmer and... Read More

Procrastinator No More!

Procrastination is when ever we postpone a task or duty... Read More

3 Great Ways to Beat Procrastination at Work

As more tasks become automated due to advances in technology... Read More

Have You Just Hit The Wall?

Have you hit the 'brick wall' yet?No? Well it won't... Read More

Elements of Change

The key to achieving more than you currently are, no... Read More

Say It Aint So

For years, many of us heard the phrase "Knowledge is... Read More

How to Get Rid of Inaction Paralysis!

How many times have you come up with a brilliant... Read More

How To Deal With Denial

Denial is a coping mechanism commonly used when something happens... Read More

Resistance Is Natural - but Not Helpful - in Times of Change

Here are five feelings we all experience in changing times.... Read More