Why is it that we have the mentality that the bad stuff won't happen to us until it actually happens. We drink and drive, thinking that we won't get into an accident or be stopped by the police. We go outside barely wearing any clothes when it's cold out and think we will never get sick, we eat whatever we want and think we will never be out of shape or get fat.
It goes beyond this one type of mentality as well, we also get on planes, buses, cars, trucks, motorcycles and all other types of vehicles. We never think the plane will crash or that we will get into an accident. Somewhere in our mind it seems that we are oblivious to any consequences that may occur.
I don't believe that we are all oblivious to the consequences of our actions, I believe that is simply a case of not caring and that we will deal with the problem when it happens or if it happens.
Common everyday things we do take certain precautions, like putting on a seat belt, it's not just the law but it has been proven that it can and will save your life. We also don't stare directly into the sun, and wear sunglasses to protect us from the glare. My wife is a huge fan of sunscreen, so she doesn't burn or get skin cancer, but like most people I don't bother with it because I will deal with it if it happens, and I don't believe it will happen to me.
I think we have this mentality because if we didn't, nothing would ever get done, and we would never leave our house for fear of something that might kill us.
I had a girlfriend who was deathly scared of getting sick, the precautions she would take to prevent that from happening went above and beyond anything anyone else would do, but eventually she did get sick, and all that preparation and worry was for nothing.
We can't survive in this world if we were to worry about every single thing that might happen to us. There are people who do worry about everything, and they are in the looney bin, those types of thoughts would drive anybody crazy after a while and you wouldn't be able to function in society.
I guess it is better to deal with an issue, if and when it happens to you. An exception to this rule would be if you were to cut off an appendage or something. I can foresee that sticking my hand into a running saw would be a scenario I would like to avoid at all costs and not deal with it when it happens.
Scott Goerz
