You know those situations where you have some misgivings at the beginning—some red flags, so to speak—and decide to push on anyways? How often have you later regretted doing so?
Most of us have had moments where we do things in spite of the red flags we see. But why? Why do we choose to ignore them? Why do we continue to pursue that deal, or remain in that relationship, or put ourself in positions that go against these inner warnings?
Greed and fear
Sometimes it’s due to greed. We see a potential payoff, and we don’t want to miss out. And compared to this potential future, the internal misgivings we have aren’t that big of deal. Or so we think.
Or it may be due to fear, focusing on what could go wrong if we say no. What will they think of me if I don’t go along? Will another opportunity ever come my way?
And yet, how often do we later wish we had paid attention to those red flags we noticed at the beginning. Because, as most of us have experienced, it’s way easier (and often less painful) to get off the train while it’s still stopped, than to decide we want off once it’s chugging down the tracks.
A red flag or a difficult situation
This isn’t to say we should bail at the first sign of difficulty. But there’s a difference between being honest about the difficulty that lies ahead and moving ahead anyways, and in choosing to ignore any red flags we see, blindly hoping for the best.
Difficult circumstances are a part of life. They’re bound to come. The question is, How many of them do we experience unnecessarily, all because we didn’t trust our gut earlier in the process?