God Almighty!

 

There are several phrases that we tend to use when much smaller things go wrong.

"God Almighty!" is one of them. So is, "Jesus Christ!" However, I think the two all time favourites are, "It's not the end of the world!" and "It's not rocket science."

These last two phrases are used in circumstances where something, like the following examples, has happened:

• "Hey, I got a flat tyre today! I didn't know how to change it" - It's not rocket science.
• "I feel like a failure, I failed my maths test at school." - It's not the end of the world.
• "I can't work out how to get the bag out of my vacuum cleaner."  - It's not rocket science.
• "Is it hard to follow the signs on State Highway 1 to get to Taupo?" - It's not rocket science.
• "I played a violin concert today and I just didn't achieve what I am capable of." - It's not the end of the world.
•  "I soiled my pants!" - It's not the end of the world.

Okay, these two phrases are designed to compare your little bothersome mishap to either a very severe occurrence or a very, very complicated procedure.

If and when the end of the world occurs, there will be mountains blowing up, countries being completely flooded with ocean water, cities turning to rubble, people getting sucked into space, and much worse. Believe me, having trouble changing a car tyre wouldn't even feature in the same book! 

How many of us really know much, if anything, about rocket science - say, sending a rocket with valuable data gathering machinery to Mars and then bringing it home? Even thousands upon thousands who managed easily to change their vacuum cleaner bag will never even come close to dealing with rocket science!

So, my point is, let's downscale the comparison we use to cheer someone up who has failed with a task.

It's not the end of the world could be replaced by It can be hard to successfully fold a bedsheet.

It's not rocket science could be replaced by It's harder to service a lawnmower.

I hope that helps a few of you.

Ciao tutti.