the life of try – Surprised By Joy

“You never fail until you stop trying.” – Albert Einstein

I have been watching a lot of Little League baseball this Spring. It’s a fascinating mix of young athleticism and skill development peppered with moments of bitter disappointment. In most every practice and game there is at least one example of someone who wants to sit on the ground and pout because things aren’t going as they expected.

But disappointment doesn’t just happen to six and seven-year-olds. It reminds me that expectations can inspire us to try—until they harden into a demand for a specific outcome.

In this episode of The Life of Try, I dig in to how unmet expectations fuel disappointment, why that disappointment can keep us from taking healthy risks, and what it looks like to stay hopeful without clinging.

From a childhood lesson I learned from my mom about “pressing for the answer” to Alexander Fleming’s accidental discovery of penicillin, I trace how openness, curiosity, and faith can turn apparent failures into forward motion.

Along the way, I draw from Brené Brown’s research on disappointment, Maya Shankar’s reframing of identity after loss, and spiritual wisdom about surrender and non‑attachment—so you can keep trying even when the path changes.

Takeaways:

Recognize when expectations are motivating you—and when they’re setting you up for disappointment
Practice openness and curiosity when a try doesn’t go as planned (and why that matters)
Name and communicate your expectations to reduce “unspoken contracts”
Reconnect with your deeper “why” when your “what” gets taken away
Hold onto faith that trying will lead somewhere good—even if it’s not the destination you imagined.

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Near Death, Deep Faith, New Life | Liza Anderson’s Extraordinary Story – The Life of Try: Personal growth, one try at a time.

In this episode of The Life of Try, Wynne Leon talks with Liza Anderson, author of The Crossing: My Near Death Experience with Jesus, about surviving a sudden medical crisis, spendingweeks in an induced coma, and returning with a deeper sense of faith, presence, and purpose. Liza shares her near-death experience, her encounter with Jesus, and what recovery taught her about resilience, prayer, and living in the present moment.In this episode, you'll learn: → You don’t have to control the outcome to choose the next step. → Some of life’s deepest lessons come through suffering, but they can reshape how we live every ordinary day. → Recovery is not only physical—it’s emotional, spiritual, and relational too. → Trying can mean returning to life one small moment at a time. → Being fully present may matter more than predicting or controlling what comes next. → Sometimes courage looks less like certainty and more like choosing life again and again. → The adventure of life may be less about outcomes and more about how we show up to the moment we’re in.If you’ve ever wondered how to stay grounded when everything around you is swirling, this conversation will stay with you.🔔 Subscribe for more:Subscribe to The Life of Try for more conversations on:personal growth, creativity, reinvention, resilience, writing, and mindset.📌 Subscribe & Stay Updated!ABOUT MEHi, I’m Wynne Leon — host of The Life of Try, a personal growth and self-improvement podcast exploring resilience, reinvention, uncertainty, and the courage to keep trying.Through thoughtful interviews, reflective conversations, and real-life stories, I share insights to help you navigate change, get unstuck, and move forward with more intention.🌍 Website: https://wynneleon.com━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━🎥 Watch Next➡️ Letting Go Of Outcomes: The Mindset That Keeps You Moving➡️ How to Overcome Burnout and Build an Upward Spiral of Growth, Fun, Resilience and Renewal➡️ 47-From Stuck to Momentum: Thomas Edison's Method for ProgressLinks for this Episode:The Crossing: My Near-Death Journey with Jesus on Amazon