Ancedotes and Wisdom That Are Bullshit

Problematic Phrases People Should Stop Using

Over time, several common phrases have been passed down and taken as life lessons or words of wisdom that are helpful to live by. However, some of these sayings do more harm than good, and shouldn’t be taken as advice. Here we challenge four of the most common (and problematic) sayings that are simply not true.

Nobody can make you feel a certain way unless you let them.

• We don’t have complete control over our emotions at all times

• Other people know how to manipulate and hurt you 

• This is a harmful message, especially for younger people, as you can’t control traumatic events that happen to you and the emotions you have about it 

Life isn’t fair, get over it.

• There are certain things in life that should be fair and that people work hard to make fair, and this message is simply an easy way for certain people to get out of working for it/to sweep it under the rug

If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all

• There are certain times when speaking up about situations is important - if someone is doing something wrong/hurtful/offensive, addressing it is vital 

People would like you better if you talked more.

• Some people (introverts!) don’t always feel the need to talk a lot, and it shouldn’t be seen as a character flaw or make them appear as less of a good friend/family member/employee/etc.

• Certain people tend to dominate conversations no matter what, so it can be hard to get a word in anyway