Today’s post is prompted by events I have recently observed in which others are basing decisions on fear versus careful logical consideration of facts.

The most frustrating part of this is a general inability to persuade these people about the negative outcomes of their fearful behaviour no matter how strong the facts.

Winning the Lottery

It is a documented fact the probability of  winning a lottery is very low (the actual chance depends on the lotteries format).  Like gambling organizations lotteries are always profitable for their organizers.

Yet millions of people continue to participate although it is well known chances of sucess are slim.

Vaccines

One of my favourite examples of this centers on those who choose not be vaccinated although the proof of vaccine effectiveness is overwhelming proven through historic evidence (e.g.,  virtual elimination of measles and polio)

Are vaccines perfect, of course not, risks do exist but empirical evidence shows the benefit is enormous and so the risk worth taking.

My point is simply, by weighing the pro’s and con’s of our actions based on historical evidence we can make good decisions, caution is needed to avoid letting unfounded fears override common sense.

Information Security

The events that triggered this post relate to decisions based on fears   of the dangers of associated with the internet and those leveraging it in criminal ways (e.g., identity theft, monetary theft, etc).

Firstly I think it is critical to realize even when taking precautions, bad stuff can still occur.  What is critically important is not to let pleasure and happiness be overcome by fears of things that, in essence, are unavoidable.

Whether we lock our doors, or have alarms, our houses may be robbed.  Mine has.

If we guard our credit cards religiously we can still subject to fraud.  I have.

Guarding against hacker attacks, with most up to date best practices is not impervious to threats.  I have experienced brute force attacks and ransom ware.

Prevention without Anguish or Unnecessary Stress

It is critical to recognize, as noted above, there are no absolute solutions.  Risk mitigation just needs to be reasonable and can focus on prevention (e.g. locks) or post event  mitigation (e.g. insurance).

The key here is to make sure your risk mitigation behaviours do not stop you from enjoying yourself ( i.e., don’t be homeless because of fear of robbery, or auto-less because of fear of accident, or not embracing all technology has to give because fear of theft.)

Is fear overcoming smart decisions

Ultimately our choices are based on a multitude of factors.  The point of this post is to relax and think about the pros and con’s of your decisions based on costs and outcomes.   This should enable choices based on logic  versus emotions (i.e. good decisions). That is, choose wisely, don’t stress, don’t worry by basing  your actions historic facts and focusing on the best results.

Ask yourself, are you acting in ways that restricts your successful outcomes and personal enjoyment.  Is your fear causing you unnecessary stress.

Remember there are no absolutely correct decisions, bad stuff can happen no matter what you do, avoiding fun and enjoyable tools unnecessarily hurts only you.