As I was driving down the freeway recently, I observed a small 2-car fender-bender on the side of the road. There was a State Trooper there with the accident, which was so minor, the traffic on the busy freeway wasn't even slowed by it. The car that took the brunt of the damage had its rear 5-mph-impact bumper mostly hanging off the car. The Trooper was kicking at it to get it all of the way off, so the owner of the car could just drive away and not face a costly tow.
Great idea...except it almost caused a disaster...
When the Trooper stomped it all the way off, one edge hit the ground and somersaulted the whole detached bumper over....right into the freeway-speed traffic! A Honda Accord swerved hard left to avoid it, barely missing me. I had to jam my brakes...and thankfully nobody was close on my tail. So aside, from some seriously puckered adrenal glands, no harm no foul. But it was close!
It made me thing of how fixated we can get on a point problem, have good intentions, work hard to solve it...and in the process, blow up something much bigger.
Don't "Stomp the Bumper" unless you know where it is going to wind up!
1 comment:
I could not agree more with this post.
I have often made decisions thinking about what is best for the environment around me without paying full attention to pastures just past my view. These decisions have often almost cost me more than I would have been willing to risk making the first decision.
My point is that trying to look beyond our span of control when making decisions can make life much easier!
Post a Comment