I’m thinking that the problem with platitudes is they’re impossible to live by.
They have the ring of truth. They’re obvious, seem profound, and address the struggles we fight every day.
Why yes, I think when I read Live each moment as if it were your last. What sage advice! Or Carpe diem — of course! I’ve got to seize the day! That’s it! As soon as I take care of the things I have to do, like clean out the litter box or run to the grocery store, I am going to live in the moment and grab life by the horns.
Though they’re meant to be uplifting, platitudes so often bring me down.
I started thinking about this because recently I saw a beautiful poster full of the types of platitudes that immediately make me feel as if I’m living my life entirely wrong. And I started feeling guilty and apologetic. And I started feeling a lot of pressure. I have to get this poster, I thought. I have to hang it on the wall near my computer and pay heed to it every day. Then every moment of my life will have meaning which is important because life is short.
The truth is it’s not that simple. The truth is that the “truth” offered by most platitudes is unrealistic or impossible to achieve. The truth is that real life often gets in the way of living those platitudes. The truth is platitudes annoy the hell out of me. I guess the truth is, I’m just not a platitudes person.
I’ve decided I need a new platitude to hang near my computer.
I’m thinking of going with this:
Don’t let the platitudes get you down.
Footnote:
If you’re like me and hearing “It’s always darkest before the storm” makes you want to run screaming into the night, you might like the fine demotivational merchandise offered by Despair, Inc. Oh, please, they say. It’s not darkest before the storm. It’s always darkest just before it goes pitch black.
I so agree! I have always hated platitudes. At best, they are un-original and hackneyed. At their worst, they are condescending and trite. My all time favorite is “This too shall pass.” How the hell do you know it will? It’s quite possible it won’t. But, moreover, who put you in charge of the Universe and knowing what the future holds? The thing that bothers me the most about them though is the intent of the person sending the message. I always get the sense of “whistling past the graveyard” from them. What I really suspect is the sender is saying “This is what I want to believe, but it’s not really what I believe.” Or, perhaps even “This is what I want you to THINK I believe, so that you’ll know how truly sage and wise I am.” Lastly, when was the last time you heard a truly unique, original platitude that really hit you in the forehead and opened the secrets of heaven and the universe to you? I follow a couple of people on FaceBook who do nothing but spout these all day long like someone with Tourette’s. They are intended to be clever, insightful, eye opening, and profound, and they are seldom any of these. And if it’s intended to be some sort of measure of mental health, I find that some of the most screwed up people I know are those thing cling most tightly to these. I think they are rooted in denial and minimization. And I always wonder if the sender really abides by them. It reminds me of something John Bradshaw said years ago. “If there were two lines, one to get into Heaven and the other to go to a seminar about Heaven, most people will line up for the second.” We love to talk high principles, but seldom ever really abide by them. It just makes us feel better about ourselves to pretend we do. Happy holidays, and thanks for posting this.
Hi Jim,
I, too, know a lot of people whose Facebook posts are nothing but platitudes. Maybe it’s time to start commenting with quotes from Demotivators. For instance, THIS would be the perfect response to “This too shall pass.”