There are some advices
That should never be given
To apply in all situations in life
Especially to young people
And children
Who may not know better
Than to follow the advice of adults
Or to perceive them as national dogma
Unbending truth
One that is glaringly detrimental
More often than beneficial
Is the phrase
"Never give up!"
Which sounds like a great advice
Preached at any and all situations
Regardless of who, what, or how
"Never give up!"
But not everyone has the common
Sense of reality vs delusion
To take it with grain of salt
And give up without loss of dignity
At the right time
Some people in fact perhaps majority
Take this advice literally and with all
Devotion of heart and soul
And actually never give up
Never accepting failure as an outcome
It is one thing
To never give up knowing
The goal will never be achieved
But pursuing the goal nonetheless
For the sake of doing their best
But quite another thing
To never accept failure as an outcome
Despite having zero chance of succeeding
In perpetual denial and delusion
At best this will lead to pride
Having never given up
And at worst
End up feeling like a failure
With good chance of depression
Having wasted entire life
Pursuing a goal that had zero chance
From the onset
Never give up!
Is a great advice for many
But without any footnote
Or disclaimer
Is a dangerous advice
For the rest
Next up is one that is just a marketing tool
For selling a brand
But totally misleading out of context
"Just do it!"
From which Nike has thrived
And made millions perhaps billions
Selling any and all types of
Sports related merchandise
Generation X and Y
And everyone else before and after
Have ingrained in their brains
These three words
Just do it!
The only problem being
That "it"
Refers to everything under the sun
Not just sports
As Nike has intended....or not
Hesitant about sky diving?
Just do it
Hesitant about cheating?
Just do it
Hesitant about doing drugs?
Just do it
The context to which this phrase
Can be applied is countless
And although it would seem totally
Irresponsible to do whatever
Not that everyone will do everything
But when faced with a dilemma
On the fence hesitant to do either or
A momentary recollection of this
"Just do it" phrase
Might just be enough to make one
Tip over and just do it
Whatever that "it" may be
Just do it
Really?
Not even considering what "it" is?
But people have embraced the phrase
As an encouragement to do it
Again totally irresponsible
And dangerous
Finally but quite certainly not the least
Is the phrase spoken by Bruce Lee
In the movie Enter The Dragon
And by Qui-gon Jin aka Liam Neeson
In the movie Star Wars
"Don't think, feel!"
Again a great advice
That only makes sense
When you don't have time to think
Before the next punch or Kung-fu kick
Or fighting for your life in a jedi duel
But out of context it amounts
To nothing more than
Don't think too much
Just enjoy the moment
Go with the flow
The concept embraced
And reiterated numerous times
At all situations of secular activities
To justify and encourage others
Don't think. Feel!
Yes. Feel the force.
Together the three phrases
Never give up!
Just do it!
Don't think. Feel!
Are spectacularly irresponsible
If taken out of context or literally
Making up a perfect recipe
For disaster
