Whew, wish I had a dollar for every time I have either heard this or said it myself. I could probably buy a jet. Not that I want one, but the dollars would certainly add up. Because of my career and my day-to-day engagement with family, friends, colleagues and people in general – I do hear it often. We all do.
Seems to be a standard way to end a conversation. We lean on this expression a lot. Whether it be good, bad, serious, simple, challenging, heavy, light, complicated, exasperating, straightforward, natural, manageable, informal, the default becomes, ‘it is what it is’.
And, typically, we agree this might be the best way to just move on, when in fact it doesn’t always provide closure. Quite the contrary, it keeps a door open for more discussion, but we are inclined to accept the situation that cannot be changed, and we feel there isn’t much we can do about it, so we move on. We use, ‘it is what it is’ to convey resignation or disappointment. We tend to take it without fighting through, push the limitations in front of us and remove the obstacles. The phrase, however, does represent both good and bad.
It can buy us time. It’s versatile. It’s flexible and it can be ‘multipurpose’.
I am a fan of navigating deeper, looking for a way to seek resolution and when I hit the sweet spot, that’s when I can sit back and say, it is what it is. Don’t always take ‘it is what is’ by convincing yourself that’s it. Challenge yourself. Make the effort and look for a better solution. A better answer. Be the problem solver. We won’t always find it, but we do need to try, because at the end of the day, we are imperfect human beings living in an imperfect world, and ‘it is what it is’.
