What does "It is what it is" mean to you?

[Livin the Dream?]

Originally Posted by Sleeve_meet_Heart

That is incorrect. You can affect other people just as other people can affect you. More often than not the reactions are not controlled rather preprogrammed. for ex a traumatic event can lead to an automatic response regardless of how that person or thing "wants" to react to it.

The original quote is not mine, although I firmly believe in it - "You cannot change the way other people are, what they say, what they do. You can only change how you react to it."

It is the basis of most psychology training, as well as all behavioral management techniques.

[partykid]

Originally Posted by pickup

IT IS WHAT IT IS. I used it a little differently than hoaxster did. Depends on how you define "is" in my case. It might appear to me one way and it might appear to someone else differently. I couldn't get a handle on it but just like I don't know if there is a pencil or pen in the closed drawer, whatever is there , it is what it is. Is you is or is you not getting what I be saying? Cause I sure as heck aint.

The is you is... or is you caught my attn. here "sounds like an old Tom and Jerry cartoon my daughter watched.... Is you is... or Is you aint my baby

[over9five]

Shirt for Hoax!

[Hoaxster]

Originally Posted by Sleeve_meet_Heart

You can affect other people just as other people can affect you. More often than not the reactions are not controlled rather preprogrammed. for ex a traumatic event can lead to an automatic response regardless of how that person or thing "wants" to react to it.

In other words, there is nothing you can do about the reaction - it is what it is.
There is nothing you can do about the tragic event that just took place - it is what it is.
I don't particularly like the color of any of these Shirts! - It is what it is.

True peace within oneself comes through Acceptance and Forgiveness.

[Hoaxster]

Urban Dictionary definition (there are 20 definitions):

A phrase that seems to simply state the obvious but actually means "it will be what it is," as in "it ain't gonna change, so deal with it or don't."
-
This is the closest definition to how I use it at UPS.


Another def:
A cliche, popular within the circles of coaches, business execs, and those of us who just want to say "It's happened. 'I'm going to forget about it. I'm going to move on. There is nothing that can be done about it."

And another (this is close to how I use this in my private, non-UPS life)
A phrase used to instill a sense of acceptance in a situation. It is used to remind one of the unalterable elements of life ... think "I am who I am".
The phrase defines things that cannot be changed, ... "it is this way, so we have to accept it." An apple can never be an orange, even though if you wish, hope and dream it was an orange. it IS what it IS

[pickup]

Originally Posted by partykid

The is you is... or is you caught my attn. here "sounds like an old Tom and Jerry cartoon my daughter watched.... Is you is... or Is you aint my baby

that's what I was trying to channel, glad that you picked up on it.

YouTube - Tom & Jerry - Is you Is or Is you ain't my baby

YouTube - Tom & Jerry - Is you Is or Is you ain't my baby

[Pump Up The Volume]

Originally Posted by tieguy

I think as others have said its a comment on what the current results are and not necessarily a comment on the possibilities. Its an acceptance of reality. Therefore no sense in trying to alibi or make excuses it is what it is.

It's an acceptance of mediocrity

[DS]

it is what it is
is it what it is?
I hate this term.Its a copout .Its like saying I don't have a good answer for you so I'll regurgitate the only response that exonerates me from giving you a truthful one.

[pickup]

More years than I care to remember, I rented the down floor apartment from a family that lived upstairs, the wife owned the two story house. Every month, I would pay her the rent and she would pay me a rant. The rant was generally how the world was going to hell in a handbasket and specifically any incidents that she was involved in the last week.
As I listened to her rants, I realized that she was not the innocent victim in these "hell in handbaskets" stories but probably a willing contributer to the world going to hell. So after I listened for five minutes, I said to her "It is what it is". She took the statement from me as if I sympathized with her struggles and validated them. I said the line , intending it to be taken that way but what I was truthfully saying is that "it is" probably something else than "what" she thought " it is."

After awhile, I started to pay her the rent in the morning, and just said "leave my receipt in the mailbox, I gotta get going, I'm running late."

[UpstateNYUPSer]

I think I would have slipped a check under her door so as not to deal with her.

[Hoaxster]

Originally Posted by DS

it is what it is
is it what it is?
I hate this term.Its a copout .Its like saying I don't have a good answer for you so I'll regurgitate the only response that exonerates me from giving you a truthful one.

Yep ... it is what it is. Gotta be going. see ya later DS.

[Hoaxster]

Originally Posted by Pump Up The Volume

It's an acceptance of mediocrity

That is very true ... life in a big organization - Government, Corporations, Churches, Unions, etc.
Just a cog in the process.

Thanks for your post ... I needed a good dose of cynicism.

[pickup]

Originally Posted by UpstateNYUPSer

I think I would have slipped a check under her door so as not to deal with her.

If only I could have, upstate, but from the get go , she wanted cash presumably so there would be no paper trail for the government to follow . After all, rent is income and she didn't want to pay tax on that income

[pickup]

Originally Posted by Hoaxster

Yep ... it is what it is. Gotta be going. see ya later DS.

Hoax, I thought your response was odd, then I realized what it was about , good one. Pissed Ds off while paying homage to my post. Excellent.

[Hoaxster]

Originally Posted by pickup

Hoax, I thought your response was odd, then I realized what it was about , good one. Pissed Ds off while paying homage to my post. Excellent.

Hopefully did not piss DS off ... just having fun.
That was a tie-in to your post ... good catch.

[DS]

No hoax I knew you were trying to, but it got me wondering where this silly phrase originated.I found this article on the subject.
http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2...is-what-it-is/
This part stuck out for me
CAN’T
THINK OF ANYTHING INTELLIGENT TO SAY. MAYBE THEY ARE
A) OUT OF BREATH, B) NOT GETTING ENOUGH OXYGEN TO
THEIR BRAIN, OR C) THERE ISN’T MUCH BRAIN THERE TO GET
OXYGEN TO.
IN SOME RESPECTS, IT’S A RATHER LAZY AND
DISRESPECTFUL RESPONSE, ONE WHICH BASICALLY SAYS,
“FIGURE IT OUT YOURSELF, DUMBASS.”

[Hoaxster]

Originally Posted by DS

ONE WHICH BASICALLY SAYS,
“FIGURE IT OUT YOURSELF, DUMBASS.”

Definitely used it in that way ... it is a mercurial little sucker.
This is the way I use it when I get tired of trying to coach the hopeless romantic that thinks the world is defined by a neat set of rules and think it is wrong when the world does not conform to this set of rules ... no idea where they got that set of rules anyway. It's a Mad World.

YouTube - Mad World - Gary Jules

YouTube - Mad World - Gary Jules

[satellitedriver]

Or,
as a great bit from Robin Williams;( I should find the clip);said.
What it is?
What it was.
What it shall be.

[satellitedriver]

Originally Posted by pickup

I'll tell you this: different posters , in explaining what the term is , are really revealing a lot about themselves and how they view the world. Sort of like a Rorsharch test , except that the participants don't know that this really a psychological exam and hence don't skew or hide their true feelings.

True,(in a sense)
my analytical friend.
All responses, to any given post, meet your criteria.
BTW,you misspelled Rorschach.(petty on my part)
Define; true feelings.
You told us your observations,not your feelings.
Most posters do the same.

[drewed]

Originally Posted by pickup

sort of like a certain thread I started involving Drewed (not the quarterback, ), it seems to be gone, as if it never existed. It's like getting up in the morning and finding your car gone. Did you forget where you parked it? Was it stolen? Did your wife take it? Was it towed? If it was towed, you would think the police would leave some kind of note

oh, well, it was what it was.

Im glad im still brought up occassionally haha

but back to subject... it is what it is at work for me is this is what we have to deal with, my hands are tied lets just get it done

home its more of the its not worth arguing about because the facts dont give either argument credance over the other

[upser_J]

i honestly hate that phrase....to me that means that i have no control of my reality, but I do. it is what you make it, bitches! haha

[dino]

Originally Posted by scratch

the phrase "it is what it is" has always meant to me that the situation is screwed up and nothing will be done about it. Another way to put it would be "just deal with it".

Bingo. We have a winner!

[pickup]

Originally Posted by satellitedriver

True,(in a sense)
my analytical friend.
All responses, to any given post, meet your criteria.

I suppose you are correct, people reveal much about themselves in a post


BTW,you misspelled Rorschach.(petty on my part)

you got me there, I admit I knew it was a wrong spelling, but too lazy to open another window to find the spelling. (petty? nah, maybe you helped raise the bar for my future postings, I'll be keeping an eye out for any errors in your future postings as well and I will make it a point to tell you if there are any errors.

Define; true feelings.


It looks like you should have put a colon after the word "Define" but hey I am being petty. By true feelings, I suppose I meant that one's way of looking at things. To many this is a black and white issue. But we seem to all have different opinions of what "it is what it is" actually means. I see some posters have firm opinions on this and I am not suprised as these same posters have firm opinions on a lot of things

You told us your observations,not your feelings. Well, unlike some posters, I don't state facts as if they were written on two tablets by god and handed to them to announce as if these facts are not open to interpretation. I try to base my opinions on observation not make my observations fit my opinions. (I try anyway) I suppose a short story is in order about "observing".

A man by the name of J.J. Thompson won a nobel prize for "observing" through experiments and instruments, that the electron is a particle.
His son, many years later, won a nobel prize for "observing" through experiments and instruments, that the electron is a wave.(Sort of like a greek myth where the son upsurps the father) Both are right, but depends though how you observe and depends on the biases of the experiment and the instruments used. Maybe I should have posted this under the thread "Wave or not Wave"

I remember seeing a movie many years ago when I was a kid . It was a western, I suppose, where a shooting/murder took place in a small town. A sheriff or investigator comes out and interviews the three witnesses separately. All three witnesses witnessed three different events when relaying the scene they witnessed. All three stories were seemingly mutually exclusive And then I believe the event as it actually happened was shown in flashback. All three stories now made sense, but were different because they were from three different viewpoints.


To sum up my feelings about "It is what it is" (besides the fact I wish Hoax never started the thread): It is what it is, or IS IT?




Most posters do the same.

[seawalocal174]

I like this phrase. to me it means acceptance of reality. it sums up that I have to to just accept the things that i cant change and just stop stressing out about them. also means to me, don't take work so seriously. its a view that helps make chaos a whole lot less scary.

[satellitedriver]

Quote:
Originally Posted by satellitedriver
True,(in a sense)
my analytical friend.
All responses, to any given post, meet your criteria.

I suppose you are correct, people reveal much about themselves in a post Missed Period.


BTW,you misspelled Rorschach.(petty on my part)

you(Y, should be capitalized) got me there,(period, instead of comma) I admit I knew it was( a wrong)(an incorrect) spelling, but too lazy(comma) (delete, to open another window to find the spelling.)
(Add,to correct my spelling).
(Paragraph break)
(petty?) nah(N, should be capitalized), maybe(comma) you helped raise the bar for my future postings,(period,instead of comma) I'll be keeping an eye out for any errors in your future postings(comma) as well(period)
( many will occur, in my posts)
(and)(delete, and) I will make it a point to tell you if there are any errors.


Define; true feelings.


It looks like you should have put a colon after the word "Define"(A semi-colon is proper grammar, in this case.)(comma) but hey(comma) I am being petty. By true feelings, (I suppose,delete) I meant that(it is) one's way of looking at things. To many(comma) this is a black and white issue. But(comma) we seem to all have different opinions(comma) of what "it is what it is" actually means. I see some posters have firm opinions on this and I am not suprised(sp)(comma) as these same posters have firm opinions on a lot of things
Just having fun, acting like Sister Mary Margret Whoop Your *** grading papers with her red pencil.

You told us your observations,not your feelings. Well, unlike some posters,(meaning,me?) I don't state facts as if they were written on two tablets by god and handed to them to announce as if these facts are not open to interpretation. I try to base my opinions on observation not make my observations fit my opinions. (I try anyway)(Me, too.) I suppose a short story is in order about "observing".


A man by the name of J.J. Thompson won a nobel prize for "observing" through experiments and instruments, that the electron is a particle.
His son, many years later, won a nobel prize for "observing" through experiments and instruments, that the electron is a wave.(Sort of like a greek myth where the son upsurps the father) Both are right, but depends though how you observe and depends on the biases of the experiment and the instruments used. Maybe I should have posted this under the thread "Wave or not Wave"


I remember seeing a movie many years ago when I was a kid . It was a western, I suppose, where a shooting/murder took place in a small town. A sheriff or investigator comes out and interviews the three witnesses separately. All three witnesses witnessed three different events when relaying the scene they witnessed. All three stories were seemingly mutually exclusive And then I believe the event as it actually happened was shown in flashback. All three stories now made sense, but were different because they were from three different viewpoints.
A. Einstein explained this phenomenon, in his theory of relativity, about 100yrs ago.
My favorite quote from Albert.
"Reality is just an illusion,
albeit,
a very persistent one."


To sum up my feelings about "It is what it is" (besides the fact I wish Hoax never started the thread): It is what it is, or IS IT?
It is, because it was,and shall be.




Most posters do the same.
Pickup,
Please take my post in the jest intended.
I assume, you enjoy linguistics and verbal banter.
If I have offended you with my banter, then, I apologize beforehand.