Leveraging What Is by Mel

It is what it is. I am unsure how many times I have actually said that phrase or heard others say it. I have always perceived it as resignation to the idea that we are powerless to change the circumstances surrounding an issue. I watched someone express this the other day with a shrug of shoulders that indicated to me they wanted to end the conversation and not have to deal with anything related. Disappointment seemed the emotion and always leaves me uncomfortable.

However, I was in an interesting conversation in a recent trip I had with a Lyft driver. She provided me a much different perspective that has made me rethink my perceptions of “it is what it is”. She recently read that the increased use of the phrase shows a willingness to be accepting or comfortable with the unknown. So, she uses the phrase as social experiment with people when she Lyfts and believes that when things don’t have to be forced into being immediately resolved and tied up with a pretty bow, people can remain more open minded. Her belief is that by letting things hang a bit, it allows us to perhaps have a richer understanding leading to new insights.

So, I open mindedly want to accept that the phrase may have other meanings and is not just one definition. It is what it is!