10 Common Clichés And The Powerful Truths They Hold

1. Actions speak louder than words.

In this day and age it seems like most people have the ability to say anything with absolute confidence no matter how untrue or just absurd it may be.  Most people will say just about anything to get what they want, so it is more important now to judge people by what they do and not what they say.  Anyone can talk a big game, but the truly great let their actions speak for them.

2. The grass is always greener on the other side.

When you spend your days chasing a “greener” pasture or just about anything really, you will forget to enjoy the chase.  When you’re constantly focusing on how things could be better, or how to make your next step, you never take the time to appreciate all the love and beauty that already surrounds you. The grass you currently occupy is as green as you’ll ever need it to be.

3. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

From the moment we’re brought into this world we begin to take in massive amounts of information, and our earliest years are when we are most susceptible to conditioning.  We are all products of our upbringings, and often habits that are formed for us before we even have a choice stick with us all our lives.  Of course we all grow up to be at least sort of like our parents or whoever may have raised us; their example was the closest and most consistent for us to follow.

4. You can’t judge a book by its cover.

People are incredibly judgmental these days.  The way someone looks or talks is instantly examined for any sort of flaw.  So many people are different from how they present themselves, but with the quickness and severity of judgment present today, these people rarely get a chance to display who they truly are.  If people took a little more time to get to know someone before rushing to judgment, the world could be a better place for all.

5. You can’t please everyone.

I’ve spent far too much of my life bending over backwards trying to get anyone and everyone to like me.  I put so much stock in other peoples’ opinions that I forgot to even form my own.  I realized that even if everyone else liked me that maybe I didn’t like myself very much.  The truth is that no matter what you do with your life or how “successful” you may be, there will always be people out there that want to bring you down.  The only opinion that should really matter is your own.

6. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

We’ve all gone through some sort of pain or conflict in our lives, and at least for anyone reading this, we’ve all made it out the other side.  No matter how much you get hurt it will get better eventually and the world will keep on turning; and everything that we go through in life contributes to the person that we will become.  The only way to grow in life and become stronger is to go out and experience life in all its wonders and learn from the inevitable mistakes that we’re all going to make.

7. Love is blind.

Most love these days is conditional and based on appearances or circumstances, but real love doesn’t care about any of that stuff.  True love is unconditional and given without any expectation of reciprocation.  When you really love someone you don’t care what they look like, or what mistakes they may happen to make, you just love them no matter what.

8. Ignorance is bliss.

We spend most of our childhood just wanting to grow up, but then we spend adulthood just wishing we could be a kid again.  As kids we are relatively unaware of the world around us and have a very narrow view on the way things are, but with age comes more knowledge and exposure to the world around us.  We begin to see just how much is wrong with the world and how helpless we are to do anything about it.  We learn that so many of these grown-up things that are supposed to bring us happiness only make things more difficult.  Oh to be young and naïve again.

9. There’s no time like the present.

This is maybe the only one that is as much a fact as it is a cliché.  The present is in fact the only moment in time that we have the opportunity to live in and do anything.  We spend so much of our time and energy thinking about the past or future that we can do absolutely nothing about.  The past is done with and there’s nothing you can do to change it; and whatever future you’re imagining in your head has a pretty good chance of never coming true.  The present moment is the only one that is actually real, and the only one that deserves your attention.

10. Better safe than sorry.

I thought it would be interesting to close with one that I completely disagree with instead, so here goes.  I’ve spent the better part of my life being safe and sorry so trust me when I say they’re not mutually exclusive.  Playing it safe has just as good a chance of making you sorry in the end as taking a risk does.  The only way to guarantee failure is not even trying.  So go out there and take that leap, because a life filled with failure is not only more desirable, but more honorable than a life filled with regret.