Interesting TIME magazine cover story: "Why We Worry About the Things We Shouldn't ... and Ignore the Things We Should"
"Shadowed by peril as we are, you would think we'd get pretty good at distinguishing the risks likeliest to do us in from the ones that are statistical long shots. But you would be wrong. We agonize over avian flu, which to date has killed precisely no one in the U.S., but have to be cajoled into getting vaccinated for the common flu, which contributes to the deaths of 36,000 Americans each year. We wring our hands over the mad cow pathogen that might be (but almost certainly isn't) in our hamburger and worry far less about the cholesterol that contributes to the heart disease that kills 700,000 of us annually.
"We pride ourselves on being the only species that understands the concept of risk, yet we have a confounding habit of worrying about mere possibilities while ignoring probabilities, building barricades against perceived dangers while leaving ourselves exposed to real ones."
"Shadowed by peril as we are, you would think we'd get pretty good at distinguishing the risks likeliest to do us in from the ones that are statistical long shots. But you would be wrong. We agonize over avian flu, which to date has killed precisely no one in the U.S., but have to be cajoled into getting vaccinated for the common flu, which contributes to the deaths of 36,000 Americans each year. We wring our hands over the mad cow pathogen that might be (but almost certainly isn't) in our hamburger and worry far less about the cholesterol that contributes to the heart disease that kills 700,000 of us annually.
"We pride ourselves on being the only species that understands the concept of risk, yet we have a confounding habit of worrying about mere possibilities while ignoring probabilities, building barricades against perceived dangers while leaving ourselves exposed to real ones."
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Click the link above and read the article. It's good to be reminded of reality in a grounded, statistical way now and then, don't you think?
Balance. It really has to be about balance and perspective. Prepare for risks in a way that doesn't mess you up--financially, emotionally, relationship-wise, etc. Look at the probabilities in a realistic way--not in the hair-raising way the media happens to be fomenting whatever is the fear of the hour.
- Prepare logically, systematically.
- Reap the resulting peace of mind.
- Enjoy life.
Get Ready, Seriously ... www.safecastleroyal.com
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