Our world got absolutely obsessed with effort, hustle, and endless striving. But most people don’t fail, they just try forever. The act of “trying” is seductive: it feels productive, safe, and humble. But through the lens of quantum psychology, a field that merges quantum mechanics, consciousness, and human behavior, “trying” is a vibrational mismatch that keeps you stuck in loops of doubt and unfulfilled potential.
This article unravels why “trying” sabotages your goals, how trials refine your alignment, and why doing collapses reality into form. Backed by neuroscience, etymology, and quantum principles, we’ll explore how to shift from hesitation to embodiment and start living in coherence with your deepest intentions.
The Trap of Trying: A Vibrational Misstep
“Most people don’t fail. They just try forever.”
The core thesis of quantum psychology is that trying creates a state of energetic instability. When you “try,” you signal doubt, indecision, and a lack of commitment to the quantum field, the underlying fabric of reality that responds to your consciousness. Unlike doing, which aligns your frequency with creation, trying keeps you in a state of perpetual testing, never fully collapsing possibility into reality.
Quantum psychology posits that we don’t create from effort alone but from clarity, frequency, and trust. Clarity defines your intention, frequency stabilizes your energy, and trust collapses the wave of potential into form. “Trying” undermines all three, leaving you looping in a cycle of almost-but-not-quite.
As physicist David Bohm noted, “The universe is not a collection of objects but a process of unfolding.” To unfold your desired reality, you must move beyond trying and step into being.
Section 1: Etymology as a Window into Energy
Words carry vibrational weight, shaping how we interact with reality. Let’s break down the etymology of “trying,” “trial,” and “doing” to understand their energetic implications.
Trying
- Origin: Middle English trien, from Old French trier (“to pick out, sift”).
- Meaning: Implies sorting or testing without commitment, like sifting through options.
- Energetic Implication: An open loop, an unfinished signal that lacks decisiveness. When you say, “I’ll try,” you’re energetically hedging, leaving room for doubt or failure.
Trial
- Origin: Anglo-French trial, rooted in trier (to try).
- Meaning: Legally, a trial tests truth through evidence. Spiritually, it’s a test of integrity and alignment under pressure.
- Energetic Implication: A trial is not about pass or fail but about refining your signal. It’s a feedback mechanism, not a verdict.
Doing
- Origin: Old English don (“to put, place, perform”).
- Meaning: Action that brings possibility into form, rooted in completion and intention.
- Energetic Implication: A closed loop—a decisive signal that the universe responds to with clarity and manifestation.
In Short:
- Trying = Doubt. A half-hearted ping to the universe.
- Trial = Test. A chance to refine your coherence.
- Doing = Creation. A clear command that shapes reality.
By understanding these distinctions, you can begin to shift your language and energy from hesitation to embodiment.
Section 2: The Quantum Field’s Response to Your Signal
Quantum mechanics teaches us that reality is not fixed but probabilistic, a field of infinite possibilities shaped by observation and intention. In quantum psychology, the field doesn’t respond to your words or even your actions alone; it responds to your signal, the vibrational frequency of your thoughts, emotions, and beliefs.
When you “try,” your signal is muddled with hesitation, like a radio station caught between frequencies. This lack of coherence prevents the quantum field from collapsing possibility into reality. As quantum physicist John Wheeler famously said, “We are participators in bringing into being not only the near and here but the far away and long ago.” Your signal (clear or distorted) determines what you participate in creating.
Conversely, doing emits a stable, coherent frequency. Certainty aligns your thoughts, emotions, and actions, creating a clear “instruction” for the field to follow. Research in quantum cognition, a field blending quantum theory and psychology, suggests that human decision-making mirrors quantum processes: clear choices resolve ambiguity, while indecision perpetuates it (Busemeyer & Bruza, 2012). When you act with certainty, you collapse the wave of potential into a tangible outcome.
The universe doesn’t punish you for trying, it simply mirrors your lack of clarity with vague or inconsistent results. To manifest your desires, you must transmit a signal of unwavering commitment.
Section 3: Why Trying Keeps You in Loops
“Trying” is a psychological program rooted in fear of failure and cloaked in humility. It’s the mind’s way of protecting itself from disappointment: “If I only try, I can’t really fail.” But this safety net becomes a trap. From the subconscious mind’s perspective, trying equals not doing, which equals not changing. This is why you can “try” to heal, “try” to manifest, or “try” to build a thriving relationship, and remain stuck in the same patterns.
In quantum terms, trying is like sending incomplete data to the field. Imagine uploading a half-finished blueprint to a 3D printer, it produces a distorted or incomplete object. Similarly, trying sends a fragmented signal, resulting in partial or inconsistent manifestations.
Neuropsychologically, this aligns with the concept of cognitive dissonance: when your actions (trying) conflict with your desired identity (success), your brain reinforces the status quo to reduce discomfort (Harmon-Jones & Mills, 2019).
Consider someone “trying” to start a business. They research, plan, and talk about it but hesitate to launch. Their subconscious interprets this as “I’m not ready,” reinforcing doubt and delaying action. The quantum field, sensing this indecision, delivers more opportunities to “prepare” rather than succeed. Trying becomes a self-fulfilling loop of effort without progress.
Section 4: Neuroplasticity and Energetic Commitment
Your brain is a dynamic system, constantly rewiring itself through neuroplasticity, the process of forming new neural pathways based on experience. Neuroplasticity thrives on three pillars: emotion, repetition, and identity alignment. “Doing” engages all three, while “trying” undermines them.
When you do (acting with intention and certainty) you trigger emotional engagement (e.g., excitement, confidence) and reinforce new neural pathways through decisive action. Over time, these pathways solidify, aligning your brain with your desired reality. For example, committing to a daily writing habit not only builds skill but rewires your brain to see yourself as a writer.
“Trying,” however, keeps you tethered to doubt. Because it lacks emotional conviction, it fails to create lasting neural changes. Instead, it reinforces old pathways associated with hesitation or fear of failure. Research shows that self-perception drives behavior: when you identify as someone who “tries,” your brain prioritizes safety over growth (Dweck, 2006).
Quantum psychology takes this further: to change your life, you must speak to the field with the vibration of a new identity. This means embodying the emotions, posture, and actions of the person you’re becoming—not echoing the hesitation of who you were. As neuroscientist Joe Dispenza puts it, “You have to feel the future before it happens.”
Section 5: Practical Tools to Shift from Trying to Doing
Breaking the “trying” loop requires intentional shifts in language, energy, and behavior. Here are five evidence-based tools to help you move from hesitation to embodiment:
- Catch the Language: Eliminate “try” from your vocabulary. Words shape your subconscious and signal to the field. Instead of “I’ll try to meditate,” say, “I meditate daily.” Research on linguistic determinism suggests that language influences thought patterns (Boroditsky, 2011). Speak as if your intention is already true.
- Energetic Rehearsal: Align your body, tone, and breath with certainty. Stand tall, speak confidently, and breathe deeply to embody your desired state. Studies in embodied cognition show that physical posture influences mental states (Carney et al., 2010). Practice feeling like the person who has already succeeded.
- Collapse the Alternative: Eliminate Plan B. Having a backup plan keeps you in “trying” mode by splitting your energy. Commit fully to your goal, even if it feels risky. Behavioral research confirms that single-minded focus increases motivation and success (Gollwitzer, 1999).
- Use Mini Commitments: Build coherence through small, completed actions. For example, write one paragraph instead of “trying” to write a book. Completing micro-goals reinforces a “doer” identity and creates momentum. This aligns with the Zeigarnik effect, where completed tasks reduce mental tension (Zeigarnik, 1927).
- Quantum Recall: Visualize your result as already integrated, not just achieved. Instead of imagining “winning,” see yourself living as the person who has won—feeling their confidence, ease, and joy. Visualization rewires the brain by simulating real experiences (Kosslyn et al., 2001).
Section 6: Trials as Feedback, Not Failure
Unlike “trying,” trials are not a sign of weakness, they’re precision tools for growth. In quantum psychology, a trial is an opportunity to observe your signal under pressure. Whether it’s a challenging relationship, a career setback, or a personal struggle, trials reveal where your frequency lacks coherence.
For example, if you’re launching a project and face obstacles, the trial isn’t a punishment, it’s feedback. Are you acting with certainty, or is doubt creeping in? Are your emotions aligned with your goal, or are you oscillating between hope and fear? Trials expose these gaps, inviting you to refine your signal.
Quantum mechanics supports this: systems evolve through observation and adjustment. Just as a scientist refines an experiment based on results, you refine your frequency through trials. The field isn’t testing your worth, it’s checking your coherence. Embrace trials as data, not defeat.
Final Truth: Collapse Timelines by Being
The universe doesn’t respond to people who try. It responds to those who transmit alignment through being, doing, and embodiment. When you stop trying and start collapsing timelines, you step into the version of yourself who already has the answers. This isn’t about perfection; it’s about coherence, aligning your thoughts, emotions, and actions with the reality you choose to create.
As quantum physicist Niels Bohr said, “Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.” Reality is malleable, shaped by your signal. Stop sending the universe a half-hearted “try.” Start transmitting the clear, vibrant frequency of doing.
Ready to break the loop of trying and live in coherence?
Discover how to align your frequency and collapse your desired reality with a quantum recalibration session.
More truth-laced insights at Coach-G.com/blog-life-mind-spiritual-coaching.
Stop trying. Start being.
References
- Bohm, D. (1980). Wholeness and the Implicate Order. Routledge.
- Boroditsky, L. (2011). How language shapes thought. Scientific American, 304(2), 62–65.
- Busemeyer, J. R., & Bruza, P. D. (2012). Quantum Models of Cognition and Decision. Cambridge University Press.
- Carney, D. R., Cuddy, A. J., & Yap, A. J. (2010). Power posing: Brief nonverbal displays affect neuroendocrine levels and risk tolerance. Psychological Science, 21(10), 1363–1368.
- Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House.
- Gollwitzer, P. M. (1999). Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans. American Psychologist, 54(7), 493–503.
- Harmon-Jones, E., & Mills, J. (2019). Cognitive Dissonance: Progress on a Pivotal Theory in Social Psychology. American Psychological Association.
- Kosslyn, S. M., Ganis, G., & Thompson, W. L. (2001). Neural foundations of imagery. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 2(9), 635–642.
- Zeigarnik, B. (1927). On finished and unfinished tasks. Psychologische Forschung, 9, 1–85.
