It Is What It Is

It Is What It Is dan skognes motivation blogger speaker teacher coach trainer educator

You have probably heard people say this from time to time, or perhaps you have said it yourself.  Think back on the circumstances.  Were any of them good? I would be willing to bet that it was said after someone had given up on changing something.

It became an irritant to me many years ago when I worked for a new manager in a major corporation and he used this as an excuse for not facilitating changes that were needed.  It drove everyone crazy to have a leader who was passive.  Who wants to follow a “Yes man?”

You might even have heard this said over recent crimes like the shooting in South Carolina or the illegal pool party in McKinney, TX. There is a lot of craziness in this world for which there is no explanation because evil has no logic, but I refuse to throw up my hands and say “It is what it is.” That statement is used to deflect responsibility, and all of us are ultimately responsible for what is going on in this country.  We each have a part to play.  We can either be part of the solution or part of the problem.

What can we do in the face of evil?

  • Don’t ignore it. Evil never retreats. If we don’t face it head on we will never have victory.
  • I realize that not everyone believes in spiritual things, but I do. I firmly believe that we are in the middle of a spiritual war. We either put on the full armor and do our part, or we succumb to “It is what it is.”
  • We have to quit blaming everyone or everything else.  Let’s quit blaming guns for Pete’s sake. I realize that one statement there will cause a furor over those who are looking to blame something. Just my opinion, but I don’t think a gunman is likely to open fire in a place where there is armed resistance. They tend to look for easy targets. Maybe it is a cultural thing, but here in Texas guns are not looked at like they have a conscience. They are neither good nor evil, just things that can be used or abused. Do you think that banning guns would stop a crazy person from killing? Think about the suicide bombers that have attacked America. If someone wants to kill, they will find a way.
  • The problem is deeper than we might want to admit. We have to know our neighbor, love our neighbor, and get to know who they are and what they do.  I live in a middle class neighborhood and I admit I don’t really KNOW my neighbors all that well.  We say “Hi and Bye,” but we don’t really know one another.  We have become a nation of isolationists. Am I wrong? Perhaps we need to really know who is living around us.
  • Don’t ignore threats that people make.  The kid who shot up the church in South Carolina had bought a gun and threatened to go shoot up a college.  His friends did NOTHING. All they said when they were interviewed was, “I guess he wasn’t kidding.”  Wow! Talk about deflecting responsibility.
  • Racism is a terrible thing and we need to do whatever we can to mend the broken relationships.  It won’t get better till we each do our part and learn to love one another, despite the color of our skin.

Let’s change what we say from “It is what it is” to “It is what we make it.” That keeps us engaged and part of the solution. I know this is not an easy solution, but I do think we can make a difference if we all do our part.

Shalom!

Dan Skognes

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