Platitudes are a Waste of Your Time

Photo by Gary Chan on Unsplash

I wrote a previous thread on a few of the problems with platitudes. You can read it here

In that thread, I gave platitudes too much praise.

They are bad for people pursuing self-improvement. And platitudes are bad for the creators who post them too.

Today we're going to take a broader perspective on the problems with platitudes.

Let's dive in.

Why are platitudes a waste of time?

Platitudes are a stain on the self-improvement community.

They are hurting our community's reputation.

Most normies (regular, everyday people) can see right through self-help books. And they see right through the platitudes too

Normies are smarter than you think...

Yes, platitudes can be used to convey deep, ancient wisdom.

The problem is people don't receive this wisdom from a platitude. Most people perceive platitudes the same way they perceive entertainment. Content to mindlessly view, not fully processing the information. 

They don't stop and think about what the platitude is implying.

And it's not their fault, either.

When you have a Twitter timeline full of platitudes, threads, and other goodies, how can you expect people to stop and think about the meaning behind a vague platitude?

There are too many distractions.

Plus, platitudes are overused phrases. You’ve likely seen the phrase (or similar phrases) hundreds of times. Platitudes are old news.

Self-improvement platitudes hurt the community

Yes, the self-improvement community is big. There are many creators online creating self-improvement content across many platforms. And there are many more people pursuing self-improvement for their own goals. 

Roughly $11 billion is spent on self-improvement products and services each year. 

Self-improvement is popular.

But many normies cringe when you talk about self-improvement.

Social movements such as body positivity, fat liberation, and anti-Christian movements have demonized self-improvement. Or they push unhealthy misinformation such as “You can be healthy at any size,” or “Pursuing thinness or fitness is fatphobic.”

And then you have lazy marketers create self-improvement videos based on selling you junk products. These lazy marketers make over-hyped claims about the benefits of self-improvement or self-improvement products and services. They just want your money. They don’t care about helping you. 

With all these factors, it's no surprise normies are tired of self-improvement.

We don't need to give our community a worse reputation than it already has.

Platitudes aren't helping people. They may be helping you grow your online brand or business.

But platitudes aren't helping other people make their lives better.

Look at the people walking among us in society.

You KNOW they need self-improvement.

-Over 70% of Americans are either overweight or obese population

-Millions of people suffering from depression

-Millions of people on painkillers and antidepressants

-And so on…

Most normies are suffering whether they realize it or not. They aren’t living up to their life potential. And it’s not even close.

Most people can create a much more enriching and fulfilling life. All it takes is self-awareness and self-improvement.  

A note to self-improvement creators

Normies need our help.

Are you going to help them? 

Or are you going to fish for followers and money?

We need to give normies a reason to come and read our content.

Give them great information combined with your unique perspective.

Teach them actionable steps they can use to improve their lives

The time for platitude Twitter to change is NOW.

Let's work together to help others harness the TRUE power of self-improvement.

You in?

Wrapping up

This blog was a slightly different style than I typically write. 

In my blog post on platitudes posted in May, I gave platitudes too much credit. Yes, I ultimately led to the conclusion that platitudes are useful if you think about them and then apply the information to your life. However, most people don’t do this. And so they will never benefit from reading a platitude.

Actionable advice is always going to be much more beneficial than any wisdom-packed platitude, no matter how sage the advice is.

Today’s blog post was originally a thread I wrote on Twitter.

I post daily self-improvement content over there. I post 2-3 threads per week, many of which I turn into blogs like this.

If you want more self-improvement content from me, hop over to Twitter and give me a follow.

In addition to the daily content, I ask questions to create a discussion on various self-improvement topics. 

I’m always interested in learning from my followers like you! Everyone brings something to the table that we can all learn from.

References:

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/10/24/1934687/0/en/The-11-Billion-U-S-Market-for-Self-Improvement-Products-Services-2003-2023-Weight-Loss-Exercise-Business-Sales-Skills-Business-Opportunities-Improving-Relationships-General-Motivat.html#:~:text=This%20study%20examines%20the%20%2411%20billion%20market%20for,to%20improve%20us%20physically%2C%20mentally%2C%20financially%20or%20spiritually

https://www.livin3.com/obesity-statistics 

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