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Help, I need a STRATITUDE!
Definition of platitude
1: the quality or state of being dull or insipid
2: a banal, trite, or stale remark
I used to love seeing platitudes on Facebook and LinkedIn. You know what I mean. Here’s a few.
· Today is the first day of the rest of your life.
· Today is the youngest you will ever be.
· The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.
· The most effective way to do it, is to do it!
· Learn from the past, think of the future.
And you know how that goes. I read these phrases, cock my head sideways to think, and then move on to another post or thought. Sometimes I even ask myself, What did I just read? Platitudes sound great on paper but what’s next after reading one? I always thought if there was some strategy, some call to action included in these platitudes, then they would make a lot more sense. Something like this.
Today is the first day of the rest of your life … OR… GET OUT OF BED AND MAKE A LIST!
Today is the youngest you will ever be…. OR… DON’T FORGET TO GO TO THE GYM!
The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek… OR... START WORKING ON YOUR NEXT CREATIVE PROJECT
Learn from the past, think of the future... OR... IF YOU MAKE A MISTAKE WHAT DID YOU LEARN?
The most effective way to do it, is to do it! OR…. REALLY, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN??
In an attempt to share some aspects of our new book, I began to post certain motivational phrases from the women interviewed in DON’T FORGET YOUR SWEATER, Girl, Sister to Sister Secrets for Aging with Purpose and Humor. When older women were asked to give advice about their positive process for aging to other women they were very deliberate and straight forward. They didn’t say things like, "It is what it is…" or "Tomorrow is another day! " No, they offered advice that had a simple and doable strategy for addressing this new phase of their life. As a result of thinking how useless PLATITUDES were for me personally, I began calling these phrases STRATITUDES.
Here’s a few samples:
· Smile, it will make you look younger
· Leave the house at least once a day
· Pick up your feet when walking
· Don’t say you’re an “old woman”
· Get a dog to keep you company
· Make a lot of women friends
As authors we loved hearing what these women had to say and as I mentioned began to call their messages STRATITUDES. What a STRATITUDE you ask? STRATITUDE = A Platitude + A Strategy. If you get a minute, next time you are on FB or LinkedIn try to turn your next Platitude into a Stratitude just for fun. Also if you would like to see a compendium of the latest STRATITUDES from the New Ambassadors of Aging in DON'T FORGET YOUR SWEATER, GIRL, scroll through our latest Lookbook at
We think you’ll enjoy the trip.