Sometimes it's handy to keep a handful of pithy sayings in the billfold of your mind. You never know when they might come in handy.
Here are a couple that I've used more than a few times over the years, primarily because they are a little less common than "it is what it is" (which I do use a bit frequently, because it is what it is.)
Everything is easy for the one who doesn't have to do it.
This one is readily available for any number of situations, especially in the world of work. People often give advice to others and wonder why it isn't immediately jumped on and appreciated. Well, that's because everything is easy for the one who doesn't have to do it. Whether it's meeting deadlines, managing multiple projects, overcoming addictions, or saving for retirement, everything's easy for the one who doesn't have to do it.
This doesn't mean we can't ever give advice, but we ought be sensitive when we're dishing it out. As Eleanor Roosevelt put it, “To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.”
The butler who folds his hands spills no tea.
This one is fun because it takes a moment to process. Bosses generally do not like mistakes, though generally they readily admit that mistakes come with the territory, especially when you're attempting to accomplish something big. Being overly critical of mistakes will leave employees in a position where they never take any risks. The safest act in that environment is to do nothing.
Here are a couple that I've used more than a few times over the years, primarily because they are a little less common than "it is what it is" (which I do use a bit frequently, because it is what it is.)
Everything is easy for the one who doesn't have to do it.
This one is readily available for any number of situations, especially in the world of work. People often give advice to others and wonder why it isn't immediately jumped on and appreciated. Well, that's because everything is easy for the one who doesn't have to do it. Whether it's meeting deadlines, managing multiple projects, overcoming addictions, or saving for retirement, everything's easy for the one who doesn't have to do it.
This doesn't mean we can't ever give advice, but we ought be sensitive when we're dishing it out. As Eleanor Roosevelt put it, “To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.”
The butler who folds his hands spills no tea.
This one is fun because it takes a moment to process. Bosses generally do not like mistakes, though generally they readily admit that mistakes come with the territory, especially when you're attempting to accomplish something big. Being overly critical of mistakes will leave employees in a position where they never take any risks. The safest act in that environment is to do nothing.
"Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive."
My mom frequently recited this and I know why. She's from Scots heritage and this statement's origin is Sir Walter Scott from one of his novels. With a handful of words it says plenty.
Life is complicated enough without trying to cover our tracks and be deceptive. Sooner or later, it's going to get you. How many times we read stories about people caught embezzling or evading paying taxes.
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If you need to arm yourself with some new quip material, there are plenty of websites devoted to collecting these kinds of pearls. Here are a few from a website called Quips, Quotes and Pithy Sayings.
Experience enables you to recognize a mistake every time you repeat it.
To write with a broken pencil is pointless.
Profanity is the effort of a feeble mind to express itself forcefully.
America is one of the few places you can say what you speak without thinking.
Unless you have never been tempted, don't pass judgment on someone who has yielded.
Don't mistake activity for achievement.
Or you can simply quote lines from Dylan, like I do.
"Meantime life goes on all around you."
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