The Daily Challenge, Day Three: Never

The first thing that entered my mind when thinking what to write about for today was the good old phrase 'never say never'.

When I was a child, any adult within two meters of me would bellow down to me 'never say never', if I did ever dared to utter the word. Unfortunately for them I didn't really pick up in what they meant until I grew up. I guess you could say I was a slow starter. It just struck me as weird that I would get told to never say I word that made up two thirds of the sentence that was used to tell me so. Contradicting bastards.

It was the same with 'can't isn't a word'. That one always left me perplexed, too. I guess my fascination of words started early, as I always remember wondering what on earth adults meant. Did they mean that can't wasn't technically a word because it was two?

Rather than using these clever-sounding, technically incorrect and definitely misleading little phrases and confusing the hell out of children - why do grown-ups not just bestow their knowledge a little clearer?

If, instead, I had been discouraged from being negative, and told that 'can't' is, in fact, a word, but that I shouldn't think it, I might have turned out to have a bit of a sunnier outlook and not just been confused over how a word that constitutes a word in every way, isn't a word. What grown-ups should say, is that whether you think you can or you can't, you're probably right. Nothing ambiguous, straight to the point, effective.

Although, I do think instilling little phrases and quotes from a young age is a good idea. The question 'what quote do you live your life by?' is commonly used in interviews. But how many of us really remember to think them on a regular basis?

One that I wish had been drilled into me a little earlier on in my life is 'this too shall pass'. It basically means that everything we experience in life, the good and the bad, is transient. No matter how imaginative you are, you won't be able to think of anything bad that won't eventually pass. It's a handy thing to remember.

A good phase will inevitably come to an end, so remembering that will help to live it mindfully and with more appreciation. And in bad times, it helps to remember that all suffering eventually comes to an end, too. Absolutely nothing lasts forever, which it's a good little reminder to live life by. Especially on these longer, more rambling blog posts.