Never Say Never..

Never

Pronunciation: /ˈnɛvə/
adverb

1. at no time in the past or future; not ever: they had never been camping in their lives I will never ever forget it
2. not at all: he never turned up
3. [as exclamation] British informal (expressing surprise) surely not: What, you, Annabel? Never!

Oxford English Dictionary

Such a simple word.

Right?

I have recently been made aware of how people use the word 'never'. I have come to the conclusion that it should be used in the past tense - when you are looking at what was. In relation to your future, 'never' has no place. This is simply because you have no idea what is around the corner, and the use of never is definitive.

So I have decided to curb my use of the word. Instead of "never give up" - "Don't (ever) give up", for example. You are asking what is the difference? The difference is the fact that when I use never in that sentence, there is no allowance for humanity.

Never is binary. And I am not binary. And in my experience, there is quite often an exception to any rule you make, or give :-P You know.. I almost used 'always' in that sentence.. and really, 'always' is another word like 'never'. Even though it might feel as if you always do something some way, I challenge you to use the word 'regularly', or 'often' and even *shudder* 'normally'. Because life is change, and what comes next is unbeknownst to you.

Never give up! Never surrender!

;-)

Addendum:  A timely example to prove my point - The Buccs are off to VicBowl this year to defend their 2011 title.  There is no mention of the word 'never' is uttered - They will win.  They will not break. See? It is easy to replace 'never'  with a turn of phrase which, to me, is more powerful, more meaningful, and easier to make happen.