Use It Or Lose It

There is a corollary to the adage, “Use it or lose it” which implies that there is a limited amount of “it” either to use or to lose.*

While I grumpily made my way into the gym this morning (just because I go every day doesn’t mean I have to be nice about it) I was thinking, how is this motivation? It’s shouted by the kind of personal trainers who wanted to be cheerleaders in high school. They’re loud, unpopular, and annoying. They seem to have trouble counting to ten. (“Two more! Five more!”) Their clients look miserable, and tend to disappear. Used yet lost, the adage belied.

Robert says that when he hears the phrase, he thinks of businesses losing customers. That makes sense. You wouldn’t go back to a restaurant with bad food and rude servers. You might with one or the other if you had a good reason, but not both. The same goes for a shop with high prices and cheesy products. Insert your own examples, I’m not out to flame anybody. Not now, anyhow.

Use it or lose it. Two options, both valid. Is one better than the other? Ultimately, it doesn’t matter if we build our muscles, or finish that crossword. Hiding your savings in a mattress is as viable as making a bad investment in today’s market. Conversely, you don’t want to corrupt your personal integrity, or let food rot in the fridge.

Like with anything else, everything depends on what “it” is. Fame, brains, beauty and brawn, use’em, lose’em, but what will you do with’em? Posterity awaits your decision.


*Split infinitive supporters take your fight elsewhere. I know how it sounds but I won’t do it and you can’t make me, nyah nyah. Well, except for that one I missed.