It is what it is

“It is what it is.” Where the heck did that come from? I hear it all over the place and see it written in business communication as if it is stating something definite. Are we that ambiguous? Saying, “it is what it is,” is the equivalent of shrugging your shoulders and saying, “Eh…I don’t really care. Why should I try to change it?”

How about this one: “in the year…” I hear people talking about being progressive, saying things like, “in the year 2008 we shouldn’t have behavior like that.” Are we really that much more advanced than we were 5, 10 or 15 years ago? I was watching some old television program one night and one of the people stated something that began with, “in the year 1974…” It’s funny looking back at that. I like to think that we are way beyond that now. In actuality, people will be looking back at us saying the same thing. Come on people, it’s the 21st century!

“When I was your age…” Were things really that much different? We didn’t lock our doors…we left the keys in our cars…we played in the streets…we didn’t have to worry about “that” kind of thing…we didn’t have computers…microwaves didn’t exist… I like to think that I was safer when I was a child. I just have a different perspective now. Bad things happened when I was growing up. It didn’t bother me because I was a kid. My parents were the ones worrying. Now, I worry about my kids. They are careful and know not to go into a stranger’s house and to run if someone pulls up next to them in a car but they still have an innocent view of life. Maybe the reality of life just hasn’t hit them yet.

Are there sayings that bother you?