Superlatives are bad writing and bad living
For some reason, the phrase, “I could not be more excited” really bothers me.
Within the past two or three years, it has become popular to say sentences with this structure: “I just couldn’t be more _______!” (Fill in the blank with whatever emotion you want.) You hear it in sports interviews, celebrity press tours, and when regular people are going out to dinner.
One of the reasons it bothers me is because it’s not true. You couldn’t be more excited? Ok, so if there was a suitcase waiting for you full of a million dollars, you wouldn’t be a little bit more excited? If your best friend flew across the world to be there, you still couldn’t be more excited?
Superlative language is when people describe something with the “highest degree of quality.” Think of words like, “greatest,” “best,” “funniest,” or, in this case, “could not be more excited.” That’s superlative language. And it’s bad writing.
It’s bad writing is because it’s the easy way out. Instead of taking the time to describe something with the thousands of words available to us, and instead of creating a vivid picture with those words, we often choose superlatives because they’re easier.
If you read one superlative, it should make you suspicious. However, if someone really thinks the thing they’re describing is the very best, who are you to argue. Two or three superlatives in the same piece of writing? That’s an indication of lazy writing.
I think there’s a fundamental misunderstanding of the human experience buried deep within this choice of words. Only one meal can be the best one of your life. Only one day can be the best day of the year. The other 364 days just simply aren’t as good. People resent this, because they don’t want to live a boring life. They don’t want to admit that their life isn’t the greatest thing ever. So, instead of doing the hard work of learning to be grateful for the simple things, they use superlative thinking.
If we allow superlative thinking to sink into our lives, it can drive our decision-making. Instead of being present with the people across the table from us, we wonder if we chose the wrong restaurant. Instead of taking the time to introduce ourselves to new people at the party, we wonder if we went to the wrong party. Instead of expressing gratitude for the work that’s been given to us today, we yearn for a new kind of work that will somehow fix everything.
Superlatives are bad writing and bad living. We need to write with more words, more descriptors, more color. And we need to learn to appreciate every experience—especially the ones that aren’t the very best.
