Why shouldn't people think "it can't/won't happen to me"?

Question

There is a countless number of problems that plague people that are known to man. Instead of doing things that will prevent us from experiencing great pain and losses, we (NOT EVERYONE, just everyone that this case applies to INCLUDING MYSELF) choose to turn our heads and say, "Oh, that won't happen to me", and if we don't say it, we definitely think it. Could someone please explain why we should consider ourselves to be possible candidates to these problems (even though we haven't witnessed anything terrible that would naturally change our minds)?

Answer 1

Our actions, reactions and nonactions(?) affect our lives and those lives around us. Consider how many children have disappeared because of a parent or caretaker never thought something like that could happen to them..

Answer 2

because people have faith "a lot" and we sadly think that we still living in a perfect word. But wen something really bad happened to us is enough to open our eyes sadly but true

Answer 3

the possibility of any one thing happening to any of us in terms of disease and the like is pretty slim, but that doesn't mean everyone will luck out and escape from everything, the chances of something going wrong somewhere sometime is fairly high... but you can't live your life aftraid of anything and everything either

Answer 4

Depends on the issue in question. There is certainly a case for not being "omniphobic" as there is a case for being sensibly cautious. I think we naturally assess the probability of things happening to us - or to people like us - through experience, and take precautions as appropriate. If a number of your friends have had house fires then you will start taking that possibility seriously for yourself. If the media says that most people in your age group go bankrupt within 5 years - I bet you will start managing your finances more carefully. On the other hand, if you have never met or heard of anyone like you contracting a certain illness, I bet you don't bother protecting yourself against that illness.

The problem with this way of thinking is obvious. For any set of individuals that have had certain misfortunes befall them, there had to be a first. And there is nothing to guarantee you won't be the first of a trend amongst people "like" you.

Answer 5

I think that most people, deep down, know that bad things may indeed happen to them, especially, if they behave in certain ways, yet they still choose to behave in those ways. I believe that there is a fundamental lack of self-worth in most people, and therefore, they don't really care about bad things happening to them.

Answer 6

Hmm...tough for me to say as my most significant problems have been a complete result of chance.

To try an answer your question, we should always consider the possible outcomes we subject ourselves to but there's a point where it becomes too much. Statistics are a useful tool, but once you're on the wrong side of one (that might be a million to one) it rarely matters to you.

Cliche, but ignorance is bliss. The fact that the "Oh, that won't happen to me" attitude is so universal, must mean it's related to a deeper part of the human psyche. Maybe we all would like to believe we're more immortal than the next guy. And if that's the case, it has to do with our sense of mortality.

Hope that helps!

Answer 7

its voodoo.  If you dwell on these things they will manifest somehow as real problems.

Denial is the way to live. A person with a strong mind doesn't get sick.  Cultivate a positive mental attitude.