Those who stand on tiptoes do not stand firmly. Those who rush ahead don't get very far. Those who try to out shine others dim their own light.

[vinme]

So dont try hard, but if you have to try hard to succeed you have already lost.

All that does not come fluidly without overextention, overexertion defines your limitations.

 

[LetswaveaBook]

I never tried hard in live and it never got me anywhere.

[Norse_Harold]

Is it acceptable to try hard to explain why one should not try hard? Or, would that also be trying hard? Then if we can't try hard in explaining why we shouldn't try hard then does that mean that the tryhards have already won?

[vinme]

On 05/10/2022 at 12:33 AM, Norse_Harold said:

Is it acceptable to try hard to explain why one should not try hard? Or, would that also be trying hard? Then if we can't try hard in explaining why we shouldn't try hard then does that mean that the tryhards have already won?

No, overexherting is harmfull, and will only give net loss, if you are too stupid to explain something trying to do the impossible will only cause you to waste time and effort.
We can either explain it, or we cant, trying hard has nothing to do with improving the results, only worseining them.

Also this is more so about multiple itteration of events, so it may work 1/10 times, but the 9/10 times it doesnt causes more harm than that 1/10.

In thinking not succeeding per 1 try is fine, as you can generally get some value out of it so after starting over or re adressing the issue you are a bit closer to solving it.

Also another issue is knowing your limitations, which is sometimes impossible without trial and error, so there is occasionally value in pushing the limit and failing on purpose if you feel you are ignorant of your limitations.

Try hards never win, they merely sacrifice what they were given by luck or life just to feel like they are in controll/accomplished something/deserve what they have.

 

 

[vinme]

On 05/10/2022 at 12:17 AM, LetswaveaBook said:

I never tried hard in live and it never got me anywhere.

I can either tell you to push your limits, or that if you tried hard you wouldve been worse off, all depends on context, on what exactly you define "trying hard" as.

So you what you said could mean 2 totally opposite, things.

[alre]

21 hours ago, Norse_Harold said:

Is it acceptable to try hard to explain why one should not try hard? Or, would that also be trying hard? Then if we can't try hard in explaining why we shouldn't try hard then does that mean that the tryhards have already won?

that's fair. tryhards do win in the end anyway.

[Norse_Harold]

1 hour ago, alre said:

that's fair. tryhards do win in the end anyway.

Hmm, that depends.

2 hours ago, vinme said:

all depends on context, on what exactly you define "trying hard" as.

This is what it depends on. How one defines a "tryhard".

To bring in some more intellectual content, take a look at Sun Tzu's Art of War. It has some advice that is kind of similar to what vinme has written.
 

IV. TACTICAL DISPOSITIONS

11. What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins,
       but excels in winning with ease.

However, it also has advice about training and discipline that seems to differ from what vinme has written.
 

16. The consummate leader cultivates the moral law, and strictly
       adheres to method and discipline; thus it is in his power to
       control success.

 

[Pemulis]

I think it is a self-evident truth.
Would be like saying "if you have to do the impossible to achieve something, you can't"; or "you can achieve only what's in your range". 

The point is that what falls inside the group of the achievable things change following your skill/abilities/knowledge, so technically with endurance and patience a prior beyond-our-limits-thing can eventually be achieved with no overextension. Because our limits are defined by our "power", and our "power" is not fixed.
I think this was missing in your interpretation, but it's crucial in order to preserve the dynamic of how our range of possibilities changes.
To just say "don't try hard" could be taken as a general excuse to give up on difficult achievement, which is offensive to ourselves.

Also, I don't think Laozi was proposing that kind of passivity, which really looks more like resignation (a thing that I often felt from your thoughts).
Surely he was more oriented to push the reader into the typical eremitic/ascetic kind of life, avoiding the circle of desires and passions. So avoiding to overextend should mean to live a simple and virtuous life, freeing you of all the egoistic desires etc.
Which is a thing shared by most of the traditional spiritual doctrines and that I agree with. 
So nothing to do with our every day conduct and our every day problems, all such things are simply considered useless and dangerous.

I would've agreed with:

So don't try hard, 'cause if you have to try hard to succeed you have already lost.
All that requires overextension is just a desire that comes from the slavery of your soul: live your life virtuously and simply, achieving things won't give you happiness, there's nothing to be reached, even kill the focking Buddha if you meet him on the streets etc. etc. 'cause happiness is renouncing to this tension towards anything you don't already have.

I think this could be a more correct interpretation of the quote.