Trying Hard Counts
You're trying hard at something. See it while the trying is still happening.
Trying Hard Counts is one of the 108 practices in 108 Moments. It is a mindfulness practice you do with your eyes open, in the middle of an ordinary day. There is nothing to sit down for. You carry one line with you, and each time you catch the moment it describes, that counts.
How to try it today
- Read the line once in the morning: You're trying hard at something. See it while the trying is still happening.
- Go about your day. When you catch it happening, that is one moment.
- Count it. Move a bead, or tap once in the app.
- Aim for eighteen moments. Fewer still counts, and a missed day is not a failure.
How to practice Trying Hard Counts
What to look for
Staying patient with someone who isn't making it easy. Showing up to a hard job. Being a decent parent on not much sleep. The catch is noticing the effort while it's happening and saying so, plainly, inside: *I'm trying hard at this.* The common miss is waiting for results before anything counts. Nothing here has to be finished or perfect. "Trying hard at it" is the whole bar.
Why it works
The critical voice has a blind spot: it never counts effort. It logs every miss in high definition and skips the ten things you're quietly giving your best to — so the internal scoreboard reads like you're losing a game you're actually grinding out respectably. Naming effort corrects the record, and it isn't flattery; it's accuracy that was missing. A fair scoreboard changes how the whole game feels. When only errors get logged, of course it feels like losing.
Where you might catch it
Breakfast with tired kids
You've slept five hours and the kids are fighting over the last waffle. You keep your voice even anyway. That's the catch. Notice it while you're still in the kitchen, not after school drop-off. Say it plainly inside: trying hard at this. It doesn't matter that breakfast was cereal and someone cried.
A difficult phone call
A customer or relative is repeating the same complaint for the third time. You're staying patient, and it costs something. Catch that while the call is still going. Not when you hang up, and not once it's resolved. Just notice the effort in your jaw and your careful words. You're trying hard right now. That counts.
Walking into work
You park, or step off the train, and head toward a job that drains you. You go in anyway. That walk from the door to your desk is a good place to catch it. You showed up. Notice the effort in that, before the day has produced anything at all. Showing up is trying.
Midway through a report
You're halfway through a spreadsheet or a report that keeps fighting you. The formula breaks again. You fix it and keep going. Catch the trying right there, in the middle. You don't need the finished version for this to count. Say it inside, plainly: trying hard at this. Then carry on.
Putting kids to bed
It's the fourth request for water. You're tired and you want the evening back. You still read the book one more time, gently. Notice that while you're reading. That's real effort, and it's easy to miss because nobody sees it. Name it to yourself: trying hard here. That's the whole catch.
Practicing something clumsy
You're on the treadmill, or practicing guitar chords that still sound clumsy. Part of you is already judging how badly it's going. Notice the other part, the one still doing it. You're putting in effort right now. Clumsy and trying hard can both be true. Count the trying while it's happening.
If it isn't clicking
I only notice it after it's over.
You finish the hard call, and only then think it went fine. That's close, but the catch is earlier. Pick one hard moment that repeats, like the school run or a tough meeting. When it starts, look for the effort while you're inside it. That small shift is the practice.
It feels like bragging to myself.
Saying "trying hard at this" can feel awkward, like giving yourself a trophy. It isn't praise. It's a plain fact, the same as noting the time. You're not saying you're doing well. You're saying you're making an effort. Keep the words flat and short, and move on.
My effort doesn't seem good enough to count.
Maybe you snapped once, or the job is half done. The critical voice says that cancels everything. It doesn't. The bar here is only trying hard, not doing it well. If you're still at it, you can catch it. Messy effort counts the same as tidy effort.
Six levels deep
This page covers the first level. In the app, Trying Hard Counts goes six levels deep, with its own line at each one. The move stays the same. Only where you point it changes.
- NoticeJust catch it. Nothing else. There is no wrong answer.
- RelateCatch it. Then notice how you took it.
- Turn TowardPoint it at the hard stuff on purpose.
- SteadyDo it on bad days too. Tired days. Busy days.
- WidenPoint it wider. Strangers. Crowds. People you avoid.
- RadiateSpot a chance to pass it on. Taking it is up to you.
Questions
Is noticing your own effort the same as self-praise?
Not really. Praise judges how well something went. This just notes that effort is happening. It's closer to keeping an honest record. The critical voice tends to log mistakes and skip the trying. Naming effort fills in what was missing. It doesn't claim you did great.
Why does my inner critic ignore how hard I'm trying?
The critical voice tends to spot what went wrong. It replays a missed deadline in detail. It rarely mentions the ten things you kept showing up for. So the internal score looks worse than the real one. Noticing effort on purpose gives the other side of the record.
What if I'm not sure I'm trying hard enough?
You don't need to measure it. If something is asking more of you than usual and you're still doing it, that's the catch. Staying calm, showing up, finishing the dishes when you're spent. There's no minimum. "Trying hard at it" is the whole bar, and most days you're clearing it.
How long does Trying Hard Counts take?
Each catch takes a second or two. You do not set time aside. The practice runs in the background of whatever you are already doing, and you count the moments you catch.
Is this meditation?
Not the sit-down kind. It is informal mindfulness: paying attention on purpose during ordinary moments, with your eyes open and your day still moving.
Do I need the necklace?
No. The app keeps count for you. The necklace is an optional way to keep count with your hands: eighteen beads, two strands of nine.