My son tried out for competitive soccer a couple of nights ago. He did a great job and was selected to play on an existing team taking one of three open spots. I am really proud of him and yet somewhat unnerved by the level of discipline required to participate. He is very excited about this opportunity and as long as that is the case, I will support him in this endeavor. I have lots of thoughts on the seriousness of competition at young ages but that will be a separate post.
Today I was thinking about the advice I gave my son as he was getting ready to play for the onlooking coaches. I told him "Just do your best." While he was playing, I realized that often times in the past I have counseled him to "try your hardest" and it struck me that there is a difference between these two statements. While I know that I have used them interchangeably, they really mean something very different. I think the greatest explanation of this can be attributed to Master Yoda when he says "Do or do not...there is no try."
While I think that giving things a good old "college try" is important I really believe that if someone goes into something expecting to "do" their best they will be more likely to succeed.
I am impressed that my son did his best
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