One of the most overused cliches in all of the English language is "it's the thought that counts." Followed by a sigh, we often use the phrase to make up for a poor effort or an undesired/inadvertent outcome. Other times, it's a reactionary phrase that signals dissatisfaction but (sometimes insincere) appreciation for an attempt on something that's important to us. Here's an example:

Last week was Valentine's Day. Imagine that you've got a new romance budding in your life, and so you decide to go all out in doing something pretty extravagant for your new valentine. You go to the store, and you spend $60 on a super fancy meal to surprise him/her with after getting home from work. After spending the entire afternoon cooking and preparing, you finally finish with an elaborate pasta with shellfish baked inside, grilled vegetables, and even a dessert, too.

Ten minutes later, you find out your valentine is deathly allergic to shellfish, and your 12-hour long Valentine's Day effort turns into a trip to Qdoba for a burrito that doesn't contain possibly fatal allergens.

Anyone would feel bad about that, but at the end of the day, at least you put in all the effort, and that showed your date that you care.

It's the thought that counts, right?

The world we live in is very, very competitive. I remember that from the time I was in middle school, I knew that I had to start building a resumé, and start thinking about where I was going and what I was doing with my life. I knew that it was important to make myself stand out -- to rise above the fray. Because of that experience shared by many of my peers, I find myself (and others) being very idealistic in our lives.

Sometimes we do things for no reason at all -- we underthink -- and we fail to see collateral damage of our actions like the feelings, considerations, or time of other people. Other times, we think intensely, but we only act when there are personal benefits involved or a reason to gain. Inherently, I'm thinking that both of these approaches are flawed. One fails to think completely, and the other waits for reasoning, but acts on the completely wrong queue.

And so with that, I'm going back to my original point: It really is the thought that counts.

If the entire world re-examined its motivations and its reasonings, where would we be as a society? What are the thoughts behind your actions, your words, and (even on a meta-level) your thoughts? What are your motivations?

Are you living your life for the right reasons?

Think about it -- after all, it's the thought that counts.