Everyone has heard this phrase before. "I tried. It didn't work."
The phrase can communicate with many nuances. What do you hear?
You might be hearing him saying,
"I couldn't get it work, and I gave up. But I don't want to hear you blaming me for that. I don't want to admit someone else might be able to get it work, either. You should stop trying and give up, too. Be like me".
You might be hearing her saying,
"I tried this way and that way. These ways didn't work for me. But some other ways or some other person may be able to get it work. How about, you try the other way?"
What you hear really depends on you.
When you get it work, he would likely be unhappy because you sort of showed who he was.
When you get it work, she would likely be happy because you are a hero who completed a difficult task. Or, she could be jealous, perhaps?
So what?
Conclusion 1: Your thought process and perception make a huge difference in your world. Choose wisely.
Conclusion 2: To get something work, two factors are important ( [The person's skill or ability] and [The way the person is doing "it"]). When something is not working, you got to focus on these two first. But after some unsuccessful trials it is also important to question what you are trying is valid. Perseverance is generally a virtue, but can be a vice.
Note to self. It might be interesting to write a short comedy using this. I used to watch a British TV comedy series "Coupling", and in some episodes they cleverly used the "perception discrepancy" technique. I loved that show.
A review article we wrote this summer is being considered for publication with minor revision. I was working on that today. We will send the revised manuscript to the editorial office shortly. Hope it gets accepted soon.
To answer a question, no, I am not watching Dancing With The Stars this season. So I cannot talk about that.
