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How many times have you said to yourself, after going through a bad experience or after getting an unpleasant result: “if I had just done this or have done that…”?

We would certainly prefer better being safe than sorry; I think very few people will disagree with that. Indeed, we don’t want to go through problems that will bring us tribulations, especially if those could have been avoided. It is definitely much better to avoid a possible problem rather than to deal with it after it has happened. So, we should behave and act towards stopping something ‘bad’ to happen, and this is defined by dictionaries as ‘precaution’.

Some others would use the word ‘prevention’, although prevention covers a wider meaning; that is, we can not only prevent ‘bad’ outcomes, but also prevent something ‘good’ from happening. Hard to believe? Yes, but some people are still like that, and big time, like what the current Venezuelan regime did last year. It stopped the entry of humanitarian aid from Colombia into Venezuela by placing heavy containers at the border, blocking the road, and thus preventing the trucks, filled with foods and medicines so much needed by Venezuelans, from entering the country. Anyway, we should think that the majority of us have enough love for humanity and will act towards achieving goodness for everyone.

To be really “preventive”, we should keep the focus onto achieving the good outcome as well as avoiding a bad outcome.

Is it for you “to be healthy” the same as “not to get sick”?

Is it for you “passing the exam” the same as “excelling in the subjects”?

Regardless whether the goal is big or small, we should always exercise prevention.

For example, if we want to run – and finish- the upcoming city marathon, we will start training daily and progressively, while eating healthily, and avoid getting distracted with other activities or consuming sweets and fats.

If we want to do well at school, we will attend classes, study the lessons, and get the confidence we know well the subjects; and avoiding skipping classes or spending hours playing computer games.  We just have to ensure that we do activities that are conducing to the desired goal.

That is being preventive, which is developed by anticipating, visualizing, and analyzing what can go wrong against the desired result, be this transcendental or not. 

How preventive are you?

To answer, first think that being preventive is an attitude that rests on the virtue of PRUDENCE.

When we have prudence, we have got the discipline to always use the reason, the ethic, and common sense before any situation, discerning and choosing the right behavior, tools, and means to achieve such result.

The prudent man will not act rashly and carelessly.

But prudence must be internalized before it shows itself spontaneously; and most of us are not far from that. Many already use ‘checklists’ before starting a job; many go through ‘pros and cons’ analysis before a situation; many ‘plan’ the steps and actions to go through when doing a project.

Many act against health hazards by getting vaccination or washing well their hands, especially when knowing there is a virus around affecting the crowds.

Prudence will indeed spare us of tribulations and misery.

Wise people are prudent.

Are you wise?

Think about that… and remember to take a look at the other articles and at the new book THE PRINCIPLES OF SICAMOR!