Trigger Question #54:
We humans are an over-optimistic bunch. Maybe not every individual one of us, but as a bunch, we are. (You don’t agree? Then tell me, why do we add more humans every day to this planet that is constantly in turmoil, keeping us unfailingly at risk?)
If you are human, then you are probably optimistic that your lot will improve every year, if not month by month. And so, like the rest of us, you aim for the best and pooh-pooh the worst.
Here’s the thing though. We might be optimistic-in-a-bunch, but we suffer any negative consequences as individuals, on our own, individually. (You telling me you feel my pain is an in-a-bunch sort of statement. But it is a meaningless statement unless you are in the fire, on fire, standing right next to me.)
Which is why, if you want to minimize your unique pain as an individual member of an optimistic bunch, you should always plan for the worst as you aim for the best.
No, that’s not being pessimistic. Nor is it being realistic. It is simply applying common sense as a strategy.
Because once you have imagined The Worst, you are less likely to be shocked into inaction if The Best skips town with Hope riding shotgun.
Welcome to my side of the nonsense divide.
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Quote of the Moment:
“I could have been an optimist, but I couldn’t see the upside.” The Chief Nonsense Officer.
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