cli·ché noun
a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.
If clichés were people, their lives would suck—and I mean really suck. Take for example, my friend Mr. “Actions Speak Louder Than Words”; we’ll call him Mr. A for short. Mr. A’s sole purpose in life is to remind us of the importance of integrity—to not say things we can’t back up with real, effective actions. Mr. A’s message is extremely relevant to us all, yet most of society undermines his voice because we classify him as a cliché. Unfortunately, the tale of Mr. A is only a sample size of dozens of amazing pieces of advice that go to waste. This is the story of clichés.
The life of a cliché is simple:
Someone comes up with an important and applicable piece of advice to live by.
This person shares their message with the people around them, starting a change of positivity and self-improvement.
People decide that they’ve heard this piece of advice one too many times and undermine its value.
The point being clichés are useful pieces of advice that people overlook too often. Let’s take a look at a few clichés we can all try to incorporate in our lives.
Love yourself
Taking care of loved ones, friends and family is important, but we often forget that we have to do the same for ourselves. Make sure to take some time off and enjoy your favourite foods, tunes and hobbies every once in a while.
Courtesy of Lim Heng Swee
Keep moving forward
Self improvement comes hand in hand with happiness and success. Sometimes we’ll face heartbreaking setbacks, but we can’t dwell on them forever. Whether it be reading a book, learning a new language or picking up a new hobby, it’s important to keep moving forward.
Courtesy of Manuel Gonzalez
Rome wasn’t built in a day
Sometimes it can get really discouraging when we’re working hard but don’t see concrete results. Naturally, it’s easy to lose motivation, but know that your hard work does not go unnoticed. Good things take time, make sure to keep at it and your effort will eventually be realized.
Courtesy of VectorStock
tl;dr: Clichés are actually really useful pieces of advice that we should learn to undertake, not undermine.