“Trying alone does not communicate true commitment.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell (2015-10-06) from his book, Intentional Living: Choosing a Life That Matters (p. 13). Center Street. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title of the book to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Have you ever said when given a task to do, I’ll try?  Have you?  I’ll try to make this marriage work.  I’ll try to lose 25 lbs.  I’ll try to do stop doing this habit.  I’ll try.

Well John says, “Trying alone does not communicate true commitment. It’s halfhearted. It is not a pledge to do what’s necessary to achieve a goal. It’s another way of saying, ‘I’ll make an effort.’ That’s not many steps away from, ‘I’ll go through the motions.’ Trying rarely achieves anything significant.”

So what does?  John says, “If an attitude of trying is not enough, then what is? An attitude of doing!”

He goes on, “There is enormous magic in the tiny word do.  When we tell ourselves, ‘I’ll do it,’ we unleash tremendous power. That act forges in us a chain of personal responsibility that ups our game: a desire to excel plus a sense of duty plus complete aliveness plus total dedication to getting done what has to be done. That equals commitment.”

He then says, “An attitude of doing also helps us to become who we were meant to be. It is this doing attitude that often leads to the things we were meant to do. While trying is filled with good intentions, doing is the result of intentional living.”

So what do you intend to stop trying and start doing?