If you’ve heard anybody selling or hyping something lately, I’m betting they said something about “taking it to the next level”. As often happens, this phrase gives me pause for reflection. Like most catchy sounding phrases, this one has been overused to the point of high dudgeon, at least to this unknown blogger. It necessarily makes a few baseless assumptions. To understand what the next level is, you have to have a rudimentary knowledge of the current or previous level. If, for example, you are preparing an 18th century mahogany Hepplewhite dresser for resale, don’t claim that you are taking the restoration to the next level. I’m guessing that I’m not the only person that is less than schooled up on the levels of Hepplewhite furniture restoration. Granted, I can distinguish between a meticulous refinishing and a haphazard coat or two of Weatherbeater house paint from a coffee can you found in your garage. So I guess in that regard, there is a difference in “levels”. But when the phrase is invoked, it is implying that there is a marked improvement above what is normal or acceptable. I may be a troglodyte, but I can’t tell the difference between a spray-on Deft or brush-on Minwax lacquer. Are you using “next level” sandpaper? Call me dumbfounded. Seems that by simply calling something “next level”, you could literally do nothing more than the great unwashed is already doing, but it gives it an air of superiority.
“Take your workout to the next level!”
“Get next level service from our mobile cat grooming professionals!”
“Accept nothing less than the next level embalming processes that Iggy’s Funeral Home provides!”
You get the point.
I’d like to add “next level” to the list of phrases I want never to hear again ever, right up there with “Have a great rest of your day”. Personally, I think the reason that those condemned to hell gnash their teeth is because there are loud speakers blaring this sentiment in the lake of burning sulfur on an endless loop for all eternity. Either that, or the song “Sunglasses At Night”. This song would get multiple plays in the 8th level of Dante’s Inferno, if Dante were to take it to the next level. See what I did there? I get that the perpetrators of this aural assault are simply trying to be polite. But what happened to the tried and true “Have a nice day”? Everybody understood what was implied, regardless of the time it was uttered. Who started doing the math?
“It’s quarter til 5 in the afternoon. If that person really wanted me to have a great day, they should’ve gotten to me before I went to work. Therefore, I take great umbrage at the implication that a great, or even decent day is possible at this point.” If I might view the expression with a glass half full lens, I would certainly agree that any encouragement to strive for better is solid advice. Or at the very least, being told to consider our circumstances with a positive perspective is never bad counsel. So next time you hear someone say “take it to the next level” or “have a great rest of your day”, maybe internalize it. Let it compel you to living a better life, or having a better attitude. Or using that bourgeois sand paper when refinishing your 18th century Hepplewhite dresser. After all, you owe it to yourself and those around you.
Are you stuck at a mediocre level in your life?
(Click “Stand on Firmer Ground” for a deeper look into The Next Level)