Does anyone ever get tired of the phrase "Its not meant to be" when referring to love or life?

Well, I mean, it is a tired old cliché for those of us that don’t believe in fate. And if you’re on the receiving end, it makes you feel like shit.

But when you’re in a relationship, and you just get a sense that it’s not working and isn’t going to work, and you don’t really know why or what to say, you understand what it means.

It means it’s over. Sorry.

I’m tired of most old phrases and clichés.

Yeah i hate that

You can’t have something “meant” to be without having someone or something doing the meaning of it (meaning in the sense of intending, as in “I didn’t mean to do that”). The expression implies that there is some intentionality behind it, whether that of a cosmic consciousness or of a blind fate. If you don’t accept that idea, then this expression is completely senseless. To me it’s senseless and just sounds like an annoying cop-out.

I’m sorta guessing this might be aimed at me since I’ve said it twice tonight.
I agree it’s not a great phrase. However, I think in the way I used it it does make sense.
Firstly if you’re saying to someone who is falling out of love with someone else “it’s not meant to be” it’s more of a comfort to them, in that they see they are possibly doing the right thing.
And I also used it in a way of saying if two people don’t really get along well, and say they’ve got a friendship, and then they start a relationship and it doesn’t gel, then no, if it’s not meant to be in a love way, it’s not meant to be.
Hey I’m not saying give up or anything, but in my experience it is generally the case that if two people think something will work, then it doesn’t “it isn’t meant to be” is an appropriate phrase.

I hope you haven’t gotten too upset as you suggested with your use of the caps lock :)

Also, I don’t see how this phrase relates to the future…
I certainly don’t use it in that way anyway.

Yes some people do get tired of the phrase.

WHAT THE F IS MEANT TO BE – Try having it “the F” be code for “it’s just the way it is now, so perhaps it’s best, instead of thinking it is bad that is that way, would be to just say that all we can do at this point is accept it and move on.” Even if that’s not the literal cosmic truth about the past, it might as well be, especially if it’s something like someone else has given up on something, since you can’t force them to change their minds.

HOW AM I SUPPOSE TO KNOW THE FUTURE – You’re not. If what happened was meant to be, that included you not knowing it was going to happen. You are forgiven for not knowing what would happen, and for everything.

Sometimes it means that you’re attracted to a person for the wrong reasons, and you’ve yet to figure that out.

I understand your frustration though, tennesseejac. Whenever someone tells me “it’s not meant to be” my initial reaction is, “and what sort of magic clairvoyance gives you the authority to tell me this?” This is the case especially when someone not directly involved in the situation is the one saying it. It’s like saying, “look, friend, you may be too stupid and naive to understand this, but I have looked into my crystal ball and can tell you with certitude that nothing will ever come of your feelings/desires/pain in this relationship/career/missed bus situation.” Whatever, Ms. Cleo. I’ll mail you twenty bucks for that absolute GEM of advice.

I always dislike cliches.

The latest one that makes me squirm is: “Thinking outside the box.” To my mind, a person who says this is unknowingly labeling him or herself as a person who is unable to do just what he or she is supposedly advocating. Unless it is said in a way that drips with irony. And even then.

Man I didn’t realize there was so much hate for this phrase. To me it is just a phrase that reminds us that there are some things out of our control. Hence, no matter what you do or did it was going to happen. or in other words, it was not meant to be (or it was). It also reminds us not to over analyze life. You can try as hard as you want to explain something, but sometimes there is no other explanation than it was not meant to be. So don’t worry about it.
I wouldn’t label sayings like this as “cliche” they are just old sayings that bring with it a bit of wisdom.

To me it has religious/philosophical overtones that assume a common ground where none may exist. It doesn’t just say it’s out of our control. It says it’s in somebody else’s control.

Origin

Much older, I think. And a different expression from “whatever will be, will be,” which does not imply an agency.

Interesting . . . I am atheist and have always been, but I get that phrase. I have been in love before, in fact multiple times, when it just wasn’t meant to be. There can be many different reasons for it, but we don’t chose who we fall for, and sometime we fall for the ‘wrong’ person. Someone who you can’t be with forever. And that is when it just wasn’t meant to be. Of course, you can make anything work if you want to, but sometimes it is better to leave a love behind and move on. It’s not just about falling out of love, sometimes there simply is no good way for the relationship to carry on, certain obstacles that keep you from being able to pursue the relationship, and that is when, for sanity’s sake, you have to say it wasn’t meant to be and move on.