Simply Trying is Different Than Actually Doing

There’s a difference between “trying” to do something, and actually doing it. But sometimes we can get the two confused. We find comfort in saying, “I tried,” although that phrase in itself doesn’t tell us much. The question is not, “What did you try to do?”, but, “What did you do?”

I can “try” to exercise today, but that’s not the same as actually going for a run. I can “try” to get up early, but that’s different than actually getting out of bed when the alarm goes off. In either case, trying is not synonymous with doing. In fact, when we say, “we tried,” we usually mean we didn’t actually accomplish what we were hoping to.

In the end, what we do—our actions—is what what matters most. And, telling ourselves, “Well, at least I tried,” often makes it that much easier to shrug responsibility for what we actually did or did not do.