The Dream Slayer

Written by, Bill H.

Here is a word that silently destroys more dreams, more relationships, and more personal growth than anything else……that word is trying.

Notice what happens in your body when you hear yourself or hear someone else say, I’ll try. There’s a softening, there’s a pulling back, an energetic step away from a successful outcome.

Here is the truth most people don’t want to hear. Trying is not commitment!

It’s a pre-planned exit strategy. The moment you say I’ll try you’ve already created an escape route. You’re essentially saying, “I’m not all in. I’m not fully committed. I’m leaving room to back out.

Trying is rooted in doubt, not belief. If you believed in yourself, if you knew it was possible, if you were committed, you wouldn’t say I’ll try. You would say, I will, I choose this. This is happening.

Trying is what we say when we want to create the illusion of effort, without the vulnerability of commitment.

Now let’s get honest. We say I’ll try because it keeps us safe. It protects us from failure, embarrassment, or the fear that we might not be good enough. But here is the punchline. Trying does not create any results; commitment does!

Let me give you an example….

Imagine I asked you to stand up from your chair. Just stand up. You’d either stand up or you wouldn’t. There is no trying in action! Now imagine, I say, okay, try to stand up. The moment you use the word try, your nervous system becomes confused. You hesitate, you don’t fully rise. You hover between sitting and standing. That is what trying feels like.

Trying is not movement; it is not progress. It’s hesitation wrapped with hope, and that is what most people call effort.

Hope is not a strategy! Trying isn’t a decision. Let me say that again. Trying gives you something to talk about instead of something to live.

When you say, I’m trying you are signaling that you are not sure, you are not ready, you do not trust yourself yet. If your energy’s hesitating, if your belief is conditional, then you’re trying instead of committing. You’re not signaling creation. You’re signaling doubt and doubt blocks any momentum.

So I am going to ask you a question and I want you to feel it, not think it. Where in your life are you trying instead of choosing and committing? Trying to start a business, trying to fix the relationship, trying to meditate, or trying to change habits, trying to believe in yourself, or trying to quit marijuana.

What would shift if, instead of trying, you said, I choose it. I commit. I will. Because the moment you choose, your heart and energy recognize commitment and activate clarity. Clarity activates movement. Movement activates alignment, and alignment activates results.

So here is my invitation. Starting today, remove the word try from your vocabulary. Replace it with commit, choose, I will, this is happening. Those statements carry belief and power. They carry energy, and they activate creation.

Trying keeps you in your personal prison, and commitment sets you free!

So the next time you catch yourself saying I’ll try pause and ask yourself am I truly committed to this, or am I looking for a safe way out? Because the life you want is not found in trying, it’s found in commitment and taking action.

Remember, choice without action is just a thought.

Do not use today, no matter what!

Published in A New Leaf – July 2026

  • Thoughts from the Field 

    Written by, John H. I believe in myselfI believe that every action for myselfgives value to myselfand if you are willing to actin love of youI believe in you The story of my recovery is the story of desire. What I desired was life, for I was living without desire. I did not know who…

    Thoughts from the Field 
  • “Let your drug of choice be life”

    Created by, Callie B. Published in A New Leaf – September 2025

    “Let your drug of choice be life”
  • Shared Steps

    Written by, Cheryl B. You didn’t flinch.I noticed.Even when I unraveledlike thread pulled too far. You didn’t rush to fixor offer polished truths.You just stood—still,present. That mattered morethan you’ll ever know. I spilled stories,pixelated and flickering,sent across flat screensand silent hours. You received themwithout question,without recoil.Patient as a treein soft wind. I expected judgment—maybe even…

    Shared Steps
  • Summer Days

    Written by, Michael M. For me, sunny summer days were made for using. At the pool. Before work. After work. For BBQ’s. For hikes in the woods. My friend used to say that weed was a “guaranteed good time.” And for addicted me, summer was prime “party” time. My mind wants to reminisce about how…

    Summer Days
  • Recovery

    Written by, Jennifer W. Yesterday is goneToday has just begunTomorrow is not yet hereThe clouds are shiftingThe fog is liftingAnd everything is made clear We can’t go back or forwardWe only have todaySo let us bow our heads and prayThat we stay in the momentNow and foreverBecause We only have today One was never enoughI…

    Recovery
  • A New Leaf on Life

    Written by, Anonymous My journey into recovery starts as a pre-teen. I was a survivor of childhood cancer– a kidney cancer– and my parents were superstitious so they did not tell me about my cancer until my pediatrician shamed them about this when I turned 10, 6 years after my treatment. I did not know…

    A New Leaf on Life