Honestly, the phrase "you can make it if you try" sounds like something ripped off a dusty motivational poster in a middle school guidance counselor's office. It’s a cliché. It’s been beaten to death by life coaches and LinkedIn influencers who want to sell you a 5-step program for "success." But if you strip away the cringe-worthy marketing, there is a gritty, biological, and psychological truth buried in those seven words.
You actually can.
But "trying" isn't just about wishing or working yourself into a burnout-induced coma. It’s about a specific type of cognitive endurance that researchers like Angela Duckworth and Carol Dweck have spent decades dissecting. It’s about how the brain handles the "no" and the "not yet."
The Science of Persistence: It's Not Just a Vibe
Most people think of willpower as a gas tank. You use it up, and then you’re empty. But newer research into neuroplasticity suggests that the act of "trying" actually rewires the anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC). This is a tiny hub in your brain that scales up when you do things you don't want to do.
The more you push through friction, the more robust this area becomes.
It’s literally a muscle.
When people say you can make it if you try, they’re accidentally describing the process of increasing your threshold for effort. Take the story of James Dyson. Most people know the vacuum cleaner. Few people talk about the 5,126 failed prototypes. He didn't just "try" once; he iterated. He leaned into the failure. That’s the nuance. Success isn't a straight line; it's a messy, jagged doodle that eventually trends upward if you don't quit during the valleys.
Why We Quit (And How to Stop)
We quit because of the "Expected Value of Control" theory. Basically, your brain is constantly running a cost-benefit analysis. It asks: Is the effort I’m putting in worth the reward I might get? If the answer feels like a "no," your dopamine drops, and you feel "lazy."
But laziness isn't usually a character flaw. It’s a calculation error. You’ve lost sight of the "why," or the goal feels too distant to trigger a reward response. To counteract this, you have to trick your neurochemistry. Break the "making it" part into stupidly small chunks. If you’re trying to write a book, don't try to write a book. Try to write three terrible sentences before coffee. That’s it.
The Survival of the Persistent
History is littered with people who weren't the smartest or the most talented but were simply the last ones standing. Look at the entertainment industry. Sylvester Stallone was famously broke, rejected by basically every agent in New York, and told he had a "wooden" face and a slur. He didn't care. He stayed in the room. He kept "trying" until Rocky became a reality.
There’s a concept in biology called "stochastic resonance." It’s the idea that a little bit of noise or struggle actually helps a signal get through. Life is noisy. Failure is loud. But that friction is often what refines the final product.
You can't have the diamond without the pressure.
Talent is a Head Start, Not a Finish Line
We over-index on "natural ability." It’s an excuse we use to feel better about not starting. "Oh, I’m just not a math person" or "I’m not creative."
Total nonsense.
Anders Ericsson, the psychologist behind the "deliberate practice" concept, proved that experts aren't born; they're built through thousands of hours of targeted effort. If you think you can make it if you try is a lie, you’re likely looking at the finished product of someone else’s 10-year journey and comparing it to your Day 1. That’s a recipe for misery.
Real-World Nuance: When Trying Isn't Enough
We have to be honest here. Survival bias is real. For every success story, there are thousands of people who tried and didn't "make it" in the way they originally envisioned.
Systemic barriers exist. Luck exists. Timing is a massive, uncontrollable variable.
If you try to start a travel agency in March 2020, you’re going to have a hard time no matter how much "grit" you have. Acknowledging this doesn't make the sentiment less true; it just makes it more practical. "Making it" might mean pivoting. It might mean realizing your original goal was a proxy for something else—like freedom or security—and finding a different path to that feeling.
The "try" part is about the movement, not the specific destination.
The Mid-Point Crisis
Every project or life change has a "U-shape" of motivation. It starts high (excitement). It ends high (near the finish line). But the middle? The middle is a swamp.
This is where most people abandon the idea that they can make it. They’re halfway across the lake, they’re tired, and they can’t see either shore clearly. This is where you need "micro-goals."
- Focus on the next 10 minutes.
- Ignore the "big picture" for a day.
- Talk to someone who has been through the swamp before.
Actionable Steps to Actually "Make It"
If you’re stuck right now, staring at a goal that feels impossible, stop looking at the horizon. It’s too far away and it’s making you dizzy.
- Audit your friction. What is the one thing making you want to quit today? Is it physical exhaustion? Lack of skill? Fear of what your cousin thinks? Name it. Once you name it, it loses its power.
- Increase your "Repetitions to Failure." In weightlifting, you grow by pushing to the point where you can't lift the bar anymore. Treat your projects the same way. See how many rejections you can get this week. If you get 10 rejections, you’re actually "trying" harder than 90% of the population.
- Change the environment, not the willpower. If you can’t focus, move your phone to another room. If you can’t get to the gym, sleep in your workout clothes. Willpower is a limited resource; environment is a permanent leverage.
- Identify the "Minimum Viable Effort." On days when you want to give up, what is the absolute least you can do to keep the streak alive? Do that. Keeping the momentum is more important than the magnitude of the work on any given day.
You can make it if you try, but only if you define "trying" as a long-term commitment to being slightly better than you were yesterday. It’s not about the "big break." It’s about the cumulative weight of a thousand tiny pushes against a world that is designed to keep things exactly as they are.
Move the needle one millimeter. Then do it again tomorrow.
