When was the last time you gave it the old college try?
When was the last time you really tried your very hardest?
When did you last give it your all?
Giving it the old college try is giving something a sincere and determined effort, even if success is not guaranteed.
The ‘old college try’ is a vigorous, committed attempt and doing one’s utmost, though success is uncertain.
The context is important here as it is not always within a situation where the odds are impossibly stacked against you.
Sometimes it means just giving your damnedest and your darnedest.
It’s an enthusiastic endeavour that utilises all your energy and resources. It’s a zealous all-out effort.
Said another way: pull out all the stops, spare no effort, do your utmost.
Knowing what your best looks like is difficult. You might think you have given blood, sweat and tears but perhaps there was still more you could have given. Is there more in the tank?
In our day-to-day lives, I’m not sure we really have to try that hard. So much is already done for us.
Perhaps in a competitive scenario we really do have to try hard but I’m not sure that many of us are cleaning the house or going shopping in a ‘giving it our all’ type fashion.
But then, for some of us, giving it our best shot is what we have to do to survive. Cancer makes you give it the old college try.
I train for my cancer treatment and take it seriously and that means trying much harder than I would do if I didn’t have the disease. I give it some serious effort, every single day. This is a lifetime commitment!
Where there might only be a limited chance of success, you take no chances and you supersize your effort!
With cancer there is no grey area. You either give up or give it your all.
Well, almost!
You can’t always give your all in everything you do! We still need R&R and sometimes we just need to do nothing much at all. Even that’s an effort!
Surviving is hard work and so it should be.