The Lie Behind “It Is What It Is”

I’ve heard that saying for years, but I believe that it falls clearly in the “THEY lied to us” category. Wikipedia says “‘It is what it is’ is an idiomatic phrase, indicating the immutable nature of an object or circumstance. This is commonly used in American culture as a response of acceptance to something that makes little sense or has little to no validity.”

Progress Only Happens When We Challenge the Status Quo

To accept the statement is to accept the status quo as non-changing. Many, many businesses wouldn’t exist today if the founders believed and accepted this — Amazon, Microsoft and Google. The list goes on and on of companies and owners that didn’t buy into the idea that “it is what it is.”

Don’t Let “They” Shape Your Limits

If we accepted that idea as a fact, then we wouldn’t try to be healthy. We wouldn’t try to be better parents. We wouldn’t try to improve our financial position because if “it is what it is,” why try to improve? It reminds me of another thing “THEY” told us that a moment of reflection would prove totally untrue and maybe a bit dangerous. When we (baby boomers) were in elementary school, we were told that if a bomb went off in the school yard, we should put our heads under the desk. Really? If the teacher who told us that didn’t know how useless this advice was, shame on them. If they did know, double shame.

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