Here’s a contradiction: Repetition can make things forgettable. When you hear or read the same clichés seven bajillion times, they feel cheap. Like placeholders people use when they can’t be bothered to articulate something better.
You want to disregard clichés. Don’t. Let them sting.
- Actions speak louder than words.
- Keep it simple, stupid.
- If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.
- Don’t say something about someone you wouldn’t say to them.
- Two wrongs don’t make a right.
- Chase two rabbits, catch none.
- Plans mean nothing, but planning is everything.
- Honesty is the best policy.
- Hurt people hurt people.
- Birds of a feather flock together.
- Familiarity breeds contempt.
- Misery loves company.
- No pain, no gain.
- Time heals all wounds.
- If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
- A penny saved is a penny earned.
- The rich get richer.
- You can have anything you want, but you can’t have everything you want.
An exercise: Think about different combinations of these clichés. For example, pairing “Hurt people hurt people” and “Misery loves company” next to one another may spark a vivid memory or offer a sense of hope. Alternatively, combining “Hurt people hurt people,” “Two wrongs don’t make a right,” and “Honesty is the best policy” may provide the instruction you need to start healing a relationship.
“It was as if I could read the surfaces of words, and their real hearts, but not their information.”
~Patricia Lockwood, Priestdaddy (Book)
