History Main / YouWereTryingTooHard

* In ''Disney/{{Mulan}}'', Mulan pretty much gave up trying to climb the wooden pole with weights on her arms, until out of frustration she figured out she could wrap them together to help her climb it.

* Shirogane from ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'' is always had the most success in getting Kaguya to fall for him when he's more focused on something else, best seen during the stargazing chapter.

* In ''Anime/FutureCardBuddyFight DDD'', Gaito's main goal is to obtain the Dragon Force. seeing [[[spoiler: Gao and Tasuku]] get it frustrates him and causes him to lash out at his [[{{Mons}} Buddy]] Abygale. Unfortunately for him, the Dragon Force is the PowerOfFriendship; the one time he got a taste of it was when he actually apologized for being mean. He didn't learn his lesson.

* Malicia in ''Discworld/TheAmazingMauriceAndHisEducatedRodents'' tries to invoke it as well, and it's possibly a hidden double subversion in that she tries too hard accidentally leaning on things before Keith gets it first thing he tries by actually looking.

Alice tries to do something. She tries really hard, in a bunch of different ways, and none of them work. Finally she succeeds--either in the one last half-hearted attempt she makes before giving up, or precisely ''by'' giving up.

* In ''Anime/FutureCardBuddyFight DDD'', Gaito's main goal is to obtain the Dragon Force. seeing [[[spoiler: Gao and Tasuku]] get it frustrates him, and causes him to lash out at his [[{{Mons}} Buddy]] Abygale. Unfortunately for him, the Dragon Force is the PowerOfFriendship; the one time he got a taste of it was when he actually apologized for being mean. He didn't learn his lesson.

* In ''Film/WhatDreamsMayCome'', Christy [[spoiler:finally saves his wife from Hell by giving up on trying to save her and instead joining her. She can't break out of her self-imposed nightmare world for herself, but she ''can'' to save him from being trapped.]] Sometimes, [[IronicEcho when you lose, you win]].

* In one short story from the magazine ''Highlights for Kids'', a boy apprentices himself to a master stone carver, to try to learn to make beautiful elephant statues, like the carver can. The carver says he simply sees the elephant in the stone block and carves it free. The boy can't get that technique to work, no matter how hard he tries, until he realizes that he can see ''tigers'' in the stone, implying that he can be a master carver of tiger statues.

'''Fry''': Oh, well screw it then.\\

* Teana's mentality at the beginning of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'' is that she thinks the only way to get stronger is through a self-imposed TrainingFromHell. It was not until she learns of Nanoha's NearDeathExperience as well as Nanoha's admission that she was gradually easing her students into more intense training to prevent a similar incident from happening to them, as well as ensuring that the forwards would be able to fully utilize the skills they are most proficient at that Teana comes to realize that what she was doing was wrong all along. Pretty soon, she accepts the fact that while she may not be as strong as the others in terms of raw power, she can be an elite mage through other means. By ''[[Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid ViVid]]'', she not only becomes a full fledged Enforcer, but also becomes an S-ranked mage.
* In ''Anime/FutureCardBuddyFight DDD'', Gaito's main goal is to obtain the Dragon Force. seeing [[[spoiler: Gao and Tasuku]] get it frustrates him, and causes him to lash out at his [[{{Mons}} Buddy]] Abygale. Unfortunately for him, the Dragon Force is the PowerOfFriendship; the one time he got a tatse of it was when he actually apologized for being mean. He didn't learn his lesson.

* In ''Manga/TheSevenDeadlySins'', Meliodas is placed in an illusionary GroundhogDayLoop of his tragic past, the idea being to make him accept and overcome his grief. He loops multiple times, dangerously straining his mind as he tries to force himself to forget, but in the end he triumphs just by opening his eyes and [[HopeSpringsEternal focusing on the present]].

* In ''ComicBook/SonicTheComic'', Robotnik modifies a standard trooper robot with a powerful predictive artificial intelligence that allows it to counter any attack made by Sonic and his allies. Sonic eventually defeats it by saying he's giving up, because that is so outside the {{Determinator}} psychological profile for him the robot is programmed with that it (explosively) shuts down.

* In one ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' story that takes place after Spidey loses the Captain Universe powers, Spidey is abducted by the size manipulation villain Psycho-Man and brought to his fortress in the Micro-Verse. Spidey is dumbfounded when he discovers a shrunken universe held captive! The egotistical villain gloats, relating how re reduced this whole universe in size and now holds it captive, and says he demanded the inhabitants surrender and accept him as ruler, else he crush them; they agreed, but when he tried to restore it to normal (it was pointless to rule a shrunken universe), he found his technology was lacking the required power. Knowing that it took far more energy to make things larger that it did to make them smaller, he had to obtain the near limitless energy of the Uni-Power to do so in order to rule them. Spidey then asked a question: "If you couldn't make them larger, why didn't you ''make yourself smaller''?" The villain was speechless for a minute. He had simply never thought of that!

* In ''Fanfic/{{Luminosity}}'', Elspeth keeps trying to convince [[TalkingToHerself herself]] that she should be able to use her "I am being honest" magic when she's lying, or be able to turn it off, and failing. Finally, she is simply herself, who hates lying, and happens to be unsure. (Empahsis added)

* George in ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached'' works through this trope. He spends the better part of a day trying to figure out how to smuggle water into a house guarded by warriors and wizards. He comes up with a list of schemes that run the gamut from crazy to crazier, until he finally realizes he's trying too hard and decides to meditate to calm himself down. But he can't concentrate because of all the activity around him, including roof repair... and that's when he remembers the house he's trying to get into has holes in the roof. Given his [[PottyEmergency chosen method of sneaking water past the wizards]], this works out perfectly.

* In ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8162862/1/Bringer_of_Death Bringer of Death]]'', Vegeta, Goku and Pikkon are in Hell and have to make their way up a flight of stairs to get out. This is easy for Goku and Pikkon, who were heroes in life; Vegeta, however, was a villain for most of his life so faces a trial where his pride becomes a literal weight that prevents him from taking the final step to get out of Hell. Vegeta is unable to overcome the weight by himself no matter how hard he tries; when he gives up and accepts Goku's help, however, he's able to leave easily.

* In ''Disney's Disney/{{Hercules}}'', during a training montage/song the title character is shown launching projectiles at practice dummies. He misses repeatedly, then turns away throwing another weapon as he does. This hits the target, and for some reason both him and his trainer consider this a success.

--> "One problem is that you have to miss the ground accidentally. It's no good deliberately intending to miss the ground because you won't. You have to have your attention suddenly distracted by something else when you're halfway there, so that you are no longer thinking about falling, or about the ground, or about how much it's going to hurt if you fail to miss it. . . There are private clubs you can join which help you achieve the all-important moment of distraction. They hire people with surprising bodies or opinions to leap out from behind bushes and exhibit and/or explain them at the critical moment."

* In one short story from the magazine ''Highlights for Kids'', a boy apprentices himself to a master stone carver, to try to learn to make beautiful elephant statues, like the carver can. The carver says he simply sees the elephant in the stone block, and carves it free. The boy can't get that technique to work, no matter how hard he tries, until he realizes that he can see ''tigers'' in the stone, implying that he can be a master carver of tiger statues.

* In the ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' episode "The Stork Job", Parker's attempt at getting the kids from a Serbian orphanage to follow her works this way: she tries a few phrases out of a phrase book, all of which wind up as MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels, and finally half-heartedly offers up "Haagen-Daaz?", which they understand.
* In an episode of ''Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn'', Colin had a one-one-one basketball game with Patrice O'Neill, and couldn't land a basket to save his life until the final seconds of the game, where he halfheartedly hurled the ball at the hoop while walking away. It went in.

** In "Lower Decks," Ensign Sito gets chewed out by Picard regarding things she did while at Starfleet Academy. She accepts the dressing down quietly. Later, while taking martial arts lessons from Worf, he tells her to put on a blindfold and defend herself. After being smacked around by Worf several times, she gives up and tears off the blindfold, shouting at Worf that it wasn't a fair test. Worf is pleased at her response, and tells her that he hopes the next time she's being treated unfairly, she'll speak up. She goes back to Picard and tells him that she should be judged by her actions on the Enterprise, not on what she did in the Academy. If he felt that strongly that her past couldn't be overlooked, he should never have accepted her posting on his ship to begin with. It turns out that Picard, having specifically ''requested'' her for the Enterprise to be sure she got a fair chance despite her past, had been giving her a SecretTestOfCharacter hoping she would react assertively.

* In season 4 of ''Series/{{CSI}}'', Gil informs Sara that he recommended a promotion for Nick instead, because Nick no longer cared whether or not he got the promotion. Sara dismisses the explanation as stupid.

* One of the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' trap compendiums includes a room with a timer and a button on a wall. When the party enters, the doors are slammed shut and the timer begins countdown. The button restarts the timer. Cue the party frantically looking for a way out, leaving someone to reset the timer repeatedly. The catch is, [[spoiler:when the timer reaches zero, the doors open without any ill effects.]]

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', a mysterious wall in Ipsen's Castle is like this. Every time you examine it, you're giving an ever-increasing list of options, such as pushing it or taking a flying kick. They all fail, until you unlock the very last option.... taking a rest. Your character casually leans against it and accidentally opens it.
** It's never explicitly explained but all the combat within the Castle works on this principle; the stronger the weapon a character has equiped, the ''less'' damage it will actually do (and vice versa). So you want to equip your characters with their weakest weapons to do the most damage. The game ''hints'' at this with the upside-down aesthetic and by providing the ''second''-weakest weapon for each character in treasure chests you find there.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Jaune is a CasanovaWannabe, and frequently tries (unsuccessfully) to find a girlfriend by using bad pickup lines. However, he is also quite the NiceGuy, and has established good friendships with Ruby and Pyrrha because of this. The implication is that if Jaune weren't trying so hard to [[BeYourself be someone he's not,]] he'd actually relate quite well to women. (Notably, Pyrrha is attracted to Jaune, but for the [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan compassion]] and {{Adorkable}}-ness he shows naturally, not his affected attempts at suaveness.)

* In the animated short ''Dans la tête'' ("In the head"), French soldier Antoine Bertrand dies in battle after taking a bullet in the head. When he arrives in front of Saint Peter, the latter explains that every human has a tiny camera inside their head, which records their whole life so it can play out during their dying moments. But because Antoine died from a gunshot to the head, his camera was destroyed, which means he can't see the recording of his life and gain access to Heaven. Antoine is then resurrected, and instructed to die in a way that would leave the camera intact. But no matter how hard he tries, he ''always'' ends up dying from a head injury (ranging from a bullet to a wall crushing his skull to ''a mortar shot landing right on his head''), with his camera destroyed every time. After several dozen unsuccessful trials, he eventually gives up, decides not to join the military when he is resurrected once again [[spoiler: and then dies for good when he gets hit by a bus while crossing the street right after he leaves the army building.]]

* In ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'', a death trap is sealed by a door that opens when the occupants are confused, and closes when they understand things -- including the nature of the door.

* In ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'''s first "Dudley Do-Right" segment, Dudley [[FakeDefector needs to infiltrate Snidely's band]], so he tries to get kicked out of the RCMP by doing various dastardly things, but [[SpringtimeForHitler keeps getting rewarded for them]]. Finally he gives up, and is kicked out for [[FelonyMisdemeanor eating his peas with a knife]].
* ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'': He-Man gets tied up with some AppliedPhlebotinum he can't break because it turns his own (applied) strength against him. When he stops trying to break it, it has nothing to turn, and fades away.

** This trope practically defines the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who struggle with it in virtually every appearance, though they never learn the lesson. The marks on a pony's flank appear when that pony realizes what their personal desires, interests and talents are. The CMC are three young ponies who desperately want to get these marks, and already have the aforementioned interests and talents -- if they gave up trying, they'd likely get marks in short order. They've instead fixated on trying every possible hobby, sport and activity, especially dangerous and/or widely destructive ones, and also tend to persist in the ones they'd ''like'' to be talented in but don't really like and/or aren't suited for.

* The Medieval Fair that WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}} and his class go to has a replica of {{Excaliburn}} stuck in a rock, which attendees are challenged to try pulling out for a prize. Nobody can do it until Arthur, hearing the barker say "All your might won't set things right! 'Tis a steady hand will rule the land!", tries gently jiggling the sword out. It works, and even [[SadistTeacher Mr. Ratburn's former teacher Mr. Price-Jones]] is impressed.

* [[NaiveNewcomer Smokescreen]] from ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' is a prime (no pun intended) example. He is a young Autobot with dreams of future greatness but has some serious self worth issues. Once he arrives on Earth he comes to believe that being on Team Prime will validate his self-worth which unfortunately translates into him rushing into dangerous situations without thinking, endangering himself and others to try and show off for his idols. He grows out of it by the end of the series, becoming a valued support character.

* The times when ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'' come closest to taking over the world tend to be when Pinky (who just does random things without any real plan) takes the lead, only for Brain to sabotage it either by coming up with a plan to complete the process or by turning on Pinky because his ego demands that he be the one to achieve it. There was also one occasion where they took the night off and intentionally avoided any attempts to take over the world, only to end up with a large group of people searching for Brain to make him their leader. All in all, it could easily be argued that the world naturally wants to put them in charge, and the only reason they haven't succeeded is because they're trying to force it.
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': In "[[Recap/GravityFallsS2E5SoosAndTheRealGirl Soos and the Real Girl]]," all of Soos' initial attempts at getting a date fail ''miserably'', because he's so awkward around women that his flirting tactics are off-putting at best, and terrifying at worst. When he swears off real women and decides to just date [[AIIsACrapshoot .GIFfany]], he relaxes, and has a normal, friendly conversation with a young woman named Melody... and quickly charms her with his earnestness and the way he's [[OneOfTheKids still very much in touch with his inner child]]. The two hit it off and make plans to get dinner together that night. Dipper and Mabel immediately commend Soos at finding a date and being so natural around Melody... and Soos didn't even realize he ''got'' a date in the first place until he was told.

* There's a (Japanese?) story about a master calligrapher who was asked to make a painting for an important temple. He paints slowly and methodically, and produces beautiful, clean strokes, but it's rejected. He makes several more methodically produced calligraphy, but they're all rejected-- the person commissioning the work even asks if he really is a master calligrapher. Exasperated, he quickly slaps together one last painting, which is instantly accepted-- "''There's'' the carefree brush of the Master I've been looking for!"

** In "[[Recap/FuturamaS1E13FryAndTheSlurmFactory Fry and the Slurm Factory]]", Fry tries to find the can of Slurm with the winning gold bottle cap inside, first by drinking can after can, then by using the professor's F-ray. After his search yields nothing, he gives up and has a can of Slurm... and starts choking on the winning cap.
** This is also used as a joke in "[[Recap/FuturamaS2E3AHeadInThePolls A Head in the Polls]]", when Fry is going to register to vote. The Apathy party only accepts members who don't care about voting.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': In "[[GravityFallsS2E5SoosAndTheRealGirl Soos and the Real Girl]]," all of Soos' initial attempts at getting a date fail ''miserably'', because he's so awkward around women that his flirting tactics are off-putting at best, and terrifying at worst. When he swears off real women and decides to just date [[AIIsACrapshoot .GIFfany]], he relaxes, and has a normal, friendly conversation with a young woman named Melody... and quickly charms her with his earnestness and the way he's [[OneOfTheKids still very much in touch with his inner child]]. The two hit it off and make plans to get dinner together that night. Dipper and Mabel immediately commend Soos at finding a date and being so natural around Melody... and Soos didn't even realize he ''got'' a date in the first place until he was told.

* In one short story from the magazine ''Highlights for Kids'', a boy apprentices himself to a master stone carver, to try to learn to make beautiful tiger statues, like the carver can. The carver says he simply sees the tiger in the stone block, and carves it free. The boy can't get that technique to work, no matter how hard he tries, until he realizes that he can see ''elephants'' in the stone, implying that he can be a master carver of elephant statues.

** In "Fry and the Slurm Factory", Fry tries to find the can of Slurm with the winning gold bottle cap inside, first by drinking can after can, then by using the professor's F-ray. After his search yields nothing, he gives up and has a can of Slurm... and starts choking on the winning cap.
** This is also used as a joke in "A Head in the Polls", when Fry is going to register to vote. The Apathy party only accepts members who don't care about voting.

Contrast GaveUpTooSoon. Compare SheatheYourSword and WinsByDoingAbsolutelyNothing. The CentipedesDilemma is often due to this.

* In later Franchise/MyLittlePony animated series, ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', this trope practically defines the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who struggle with it in virtually every appearance, though they never learn the lesson. The marks on a pony's flank appear when that pony realizes what their personal desires, interests and talents are. The CMC are three young ponies who desperately want to get these marks, and already have the aforementioned interests and talents-- if they gave up trying they'd likely get marks in short order. They've instead fixated on trying every possible hobby, sport and activity, especially dangerous and/or widely destructive ones, and also tend to persist in the ones they'd ''like'' to be talented in but don't really like and/or aren't suited for.
** Exemplified in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E18TheShowStoppers "The Show Stoppers"]]: Apple Bloom, who clearly has a knack for building things, wants to be the dancer/choreography expert because she thinks building props is "too mundane", despite the fact she's one of the clumsiest of the three. Sweetie Belle, who has a wonderful singing voice and an instinctive knack for lyrics, decides she'd rather do costumes and props, despite lacking any of her big sister's fashion sense, because she wants to be like Rarity and gets StageFright at the idea of singing in front of people. Finally, Scootaloo, who is quick, nimble and graceful, decides she'd rather do the lyrics and be the main singer because she wants to be in a rock band.
** [[spoiler: And sure enough in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E19CrusadersOfTheLostMark "Crusaders of the Lost Mark"]], once they realize getting their cutie marks isn't as important as being friends with each other and helping other ponies do they actually earn them, their special talent being helping others discover their own cutie marks or helping out those who don't understand the meaning behind them already.]]

** In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E1TheCrystallingPart1 "The Crystalling]] [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E2TheCrystallingPart2 Parts 1 and 2"]] has Twilight Sparkle setting up Friendship Lessons for [[spoiler:the [[HeelFaceTurn Heel-Face Turned]] Starlight Glimmer]], but sets it up in her OCD way, methodically planned out and set up. [[spoiler:The end result is that Starlight, when first confronting her old friend Sunburst, can barely confront him over her own past.]] However, when the lesson goes through without Twilight's incredible list, she feels that she failed [[spoiler:Starlight]], only for Spike to reassure her and tell her exactly this trope.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasy9'', a mysterious wall in Ipsen's Castle is like this. Every time you examine it, you're giving an ever-increasing list of options, such as pushing it or taking a flying kick. They all fail, until you unlock the very last option.... taking a rest. Your character casually leans against it and accidentally opens it.

* This is most likely the reason why people fail job interviews. They become neurotic and try so hard to say all the right things and say to impress the interviewer, but actually fail to make a connection because the interviewer cannot get a real grasp of the person. This is usually why the BeYourself moral is so prevalent.

* One [[IceCreamKoan piece of advice]] given to people that [[UnluckyEverydude aren't exactly lucky in love]] is "it's easiest to find a significant other when you stop looking for them". May be related to the real {{Koan}} "when the student is ready, the master will appear". This probably works because people getting on with and enjoying their lives are a lot more attractive than people desperately seeking someone else to make their lives worthwhile.

* This is most likely the reason why people fail job interviews. They become neurotic and try so hard to say all the right things and say to impress the interviewer, but actually fail to make a connection because the interviewer cannot get a real grasp of the person. This is usually why the BeYourself moral is so prevalant.

* In ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8656550/15/Beyond-Recall Beyond Recall]]'', {{Series/Merlin}} starts working for Arthur as a manservant (again) after a bout of [[EasyAmnesia amnesia]] with [[ServileSnarker no idea of how their relationship worked before]]. He tries being a model servant, completing outrageous amounts of chores perfectly without complaint, but Arthur continues to look disappointed. It's not until they have a row and Merlin gives up and insults him that Arthur's finally happy with him, much to Merlin's confusion.

* [[TheGreatGatsby Jay Gatsby's]] over-the-top house, constant parties, super-fancy car, and UnlimitedWardrobe are all attempts to show himself to be rich for Daisy's sake; in fact, it's so ridiculous that many people mistakenly believe that he's not actually rich.