for the times you are holding onto your last thread
What are Platitudes?
OPINION | by Renee Clark | October 7, 2021 | Updated October 9, 2021
platitude
[plat-i-tood, -tyood]
noun
A trite or banal remark or statement, especially one expressed as if it were original or significant. synonym: cliché.
Lack of originality; triteness.
Flatness; dullness; insipidity of thought; triteness.
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Platitudes aren't always hurtful, but can be. In particular, they can cause harm to survivors and people with disabilities.
Imagine saying "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" to a heart failure survivor who is actively fighting to stay alive.
Or saying "all men are created equal" to someone who was born with bilateral clubbed feet, had multiple surgeries, and has difficulty walking because her feet are extremely painful.
Imagine saying "good vibes only" to an autistic person, who takes words literally, and has a strong sense that people don't like them.
Imagine telling a domestic violence survivor to "forgive and forget" and then question why that domestic violence survivor went back to their abuser.
Imagine saying "boys will be boys" to someone who was raped.
Imagine telling someone who can't afford to put food on the table that "money can't buy happiness."
The following lists include common platitudes. Read through them. Imagine scenarios where the words might cause harm or encourage self-harm. Before you use a platitude, check yourself - do you really know this person's background? Do you know everything she or he has been through? If you haven't known them since birth, chances are, you don't. Are you confident that the trite, insincere expression that you may be thinking about using, in a situation that makes you uncomfortable, won't cause further harm? If talking about the situation makes you uncomfortable, try to imagine how it makes the person, who either lived, or is living the experience, feel.
Don't know what to say? "I'm sorry this happened to you," if spoken with sincerity, along with a listening ear, is an empathetic response that shouldn't harm.
SECULAR PLATITUDES
Absence makes the heart grow fonder
All men are created equal
All's fair in love and war
At least it wasn't...
Be strong
Better to have loved and lost
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Beauty is only skin deep
Boys will be boys
Cat got your tongue?
Children should be seen and not heard
Don't be sad it's over, be glad it happened
Don't get your panties in a twist
Everything always works out in the end
Everything happens for a reason
Everything is awesome
Everything will be ok
Fake a smile
Fake it until you make it
Fail harder
Follow your bliss
Follow your passion
Forget the past
Go with the flow
Good things come to those who wait
Good vibes only
Great minds think alike
Hard work pays off
Have a positive attitude
If you can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen
If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all
It could be worse
It is what it is
It's a matter of time
It takes two to tango
It's all good
It's darkest before dawn
It's not rocket science
It was meant to be
Keep the past in the past
Let it go
Life is a gift
Live in the now
Love conquers all
Money can't buy happiness
Nice guys finish last
Other people have it worse
Only the good die young
Positive vibes only
Practice makes perfect
Put on a brave face
Sending good vibes
S/he's a diamond in the rough
So it goes
Something better will come along
Such is life
That's for me to know and you to find out
There's always a silver lining
There's more fish in the sea
The sun will come out tomorrow
Think outside the box
Think positive
This too shall pass
Time heals/will heal everything (all wounds)
We're all in this together
We're all the same
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
What goes around comes around
What's meant to be will be
What the mind can conceive, it can achieve
What's done is done
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade
What goes around comes around
When one door closes another one opens
Winners never quit (and quitters never win)
You are what you eat
You should just be grateful for...
You should just be thankful for...
You can be anything you want to be
Your [lost loved one] wouldn't want you to be sad
RELIGIOUS PLATITUDES
Cleanliness is next to Godliness
Forgive and forget
God has a plan for you
God never gives us more than we can handle
God only takes those He wants
God won't give you more than you can bear
Have faith
Just give it to the Lord
Let go and let God
Love conquers all
Love the sinner, hate the sin
Patience is a virtue
Pray harder
Surrender more of your life to Christ
The center of God's will is the safest place to be
Thoughts and prayer
Trust God
When God closes a door He opens a window