THAT WOULDN'T HAPPEN TO ME....

When we were young, we would look at the world around us and the people in it, and say to ourselves, "that's not going to happen to me!"

We would see our parents, stressed, old, and out of touch, and KNOW we would be better at raising kids and at living life than they were.

We would see super-sized folks that may have had one too many donuts and we would say to ourselves, "I WON'T let that happen to me!"

We would hear stories of poor. lost souls who turned to drugs or booze to ease the pain of living. I imagine they, at one time, said the same thing.... "won't happen to me"

We see the elderly, moving slow and unsteady, and we can't imagine being in their shoes. We will take better care of ourselves so that it "Couldn't possibly happen to me"

We see a traffic accident, and while feeling a bit compassionate, deep down we are SURE that couldn't happen to us. We are far more careful... I CAN text and drive.... I CAN multi-task while going somewhere... It WON'T happen to me....  

We see adults all around us, unhappy with their careers, and the ONE thing that we will do is LOVE our jobs.... right???

If any of these things are said out loud, I'm sure it would get a smile from Mom or Dad, knowing they too, thought the same thing.... Every generation has ideas and aspirations to better the previous one. We are smarter, more driven, and better equipped to handle anything that comes up, then....  What happened???

With age comes wisdom... or DOES it? As we grow older day by day, many of us are still guilty of the same sort of "wouldn't happen to me", just on a different scale.

You see foreclosures in the neighborhood and feel sorry for those that are moving. Do you wonder if THEY felt like it could NEVER happen to them either???

Smokers keep at it despite the overwhelming evidence of awful things that may happen, despite knowing someone who passed away from some form of cancer or emphysema, still puffing away. Why? Hmmmmmmmm....

People from all walks of life struggle to find work when their career is cut short by a layoff or closure. At least YOUR company is doing well, so it won't happen to you...

The car has been making funny noises, but hasn't ever given you trouble. Maybe you can take it in NEXT week. It surely won't leave you stranded in the dark....

A person stumbles out of a nightclub, going home alone, but getting home will be ok, despite the buzz. They will be CAREFUL and won't get caught....

Retirement is a long ways away, but something always gets in the way of starting to save towards it. Maybe NEXT year you can put some money in the 401k.... or maybe next......

I'm convinced no one expects to be in the lousy situations they get themselves in, yet we put ourselves in position to get there. Makes me wonder why we aren't smarter about it.... Maybe 'cause we keep sayin, "it wouldn't happen to me!"