It is what it is. Is it?
It is what it is. How many times have we each heard that said with the intent of convincing us to just accept the facts, reality or status quo of a situation? However, I love an addition to this line made by Pat Summitt, the legendary coach of the University of Tennessee women’s basketball program. She recently announced that she had been diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer’s but that she would continue coaching, with help from her assistant coaches. While people were wondering how she and her team would react, I listened to an interview with one of her friends. She asserted that the team would use the circumstance as a way to come together because of what Coach Summitt often said: It is what it is, but it becomes what you make of it. Isn’t that a great phrase? I have been struck by this phrase during the past few weeks – I can’t get it out of my mind. It takes a passive, almost helpless state – there is nothing I can do, because it is what it is – and turns it in to a ch