Today, I want to talk to you about cliché answers. Those answers you hear and go “meh, I heard this thousand times. It doesn’t work”.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, here are some examples:
- Want to be healthy? Eat more fruits and vegetables. Cliché.
- Want to be a good writer? Write more. Cliché.
- Want to be a professional? Practice. Cliché.
We’ve been trained to think of cliché as bad answers. Too simple to be true. Or just unthoughtful answers. We always think there is a mystery answer that we need to figure out. Or there is some things only the elite knows about. But usually, all you need to know is in a cliché.
Going back to the examples above, yes they are all true:
- 90% of being healthy is eating more fruits and vegetables
- 90% of being a good writer is writing more
- 90% of being a professional is practicing
The other 10% depends on each person. If you need to be a good writer, you sure need to write more. But you also need to widen your vocabulary if you’re not a native. But with a cliché, you already have 90% of what you need. Next time you hear a cliché. Stop and think about it.
What are some of your favorite “clichés”? I would like to make a list of those.