I also hear it being used a fair bit around our offices, right up there with "Just sayin'" and "Shit happens." The other day, frustrated with a retail partner moving an initiative along much too slowly for our liking, I caught myself doing the very same thing—a shrug and then, "It is what it is."
How very zen. At the core of It is what it is lies a grounding reminder, an acknowledgment and acceptance of the current state of affairs. It's also an incomplete statement. "It is what it is AND there's nothing we can do to change it," is the full implication. That important last part is often left out. It's also where the danger starts, because there are two ways to interpret this:
1) It is what it is and there's nothing I can do about it
or
2) It is what it is, I accept that and now what can I do to change it?
Two very different perspectives.
No disrespect to my friend, but the shoulder shrug is the distinction. The shrug suggests an indifference and a passive concession of defeat. "Yep, you beat me there."
Now, sometimes nothing can be done. Frustratingly, nothing about a situation can be changed or fixed and we have no option but to accept and learn from it. Most times though, if you look at the situation as it really is and acknowledge it—even when it's difficult, almost painful to look at—you'll begin to see how to change things. A new opportunity emerges.
I often catch myself shrugging and saying it is what it is, only to never carry on with the other half of the statement—making a new plan and moving forward. In staff meetings, I've caught our team glossing over issues that require focussed examination and a new plan. We get caught up playing fantasy. "Well, next month this should happen and then this won't be an issue. And if this happens and that deal comes into play, we'll be laughing."
That's not, "It is what it is." That's, "Well, it could be this next month…"
No more excuses. Accept the situation for what it is. A failed project. A dismal sales report. It's human nature to polish up the positives and ignore the negatives. It's like studying for a test and going over and over what you already know, avoiding the hard work of learning the material you don't know so well.
Remaining in the present moment and looking at things as they truly are and then making decisions and plans from that point of reference is a key skill to master in your working life. Companies are begging for people who can call it as it lies—see the truth, state it and then make a map to get things moving forward.
It takes real courage to accept—courage to admit you failed and courage to admit there's more hard work to be done. And even more courage to see the success and truly savour it. From this point of authentic reference, real change and growth can begin, setting the stage for new opportunities to take hold.
No more shrugs. Call it as it is. Move forward.
