I was talking with a man a few weeks ago and he said something I hear fairly regularly: “What I don’t know can’t hurt me.”
To be honest, I’ve never really had that phrase affect me until that bowlegged man walked away. Something about the ignorance of the statement filled me with disbelief. How does that make sense?
Let’s look at it from another perspective: Imagine you are watching a game at a large family gathering. Dad’s in his customary chair and rooting on the home team with all the vigor you’d expect. As your team goes ahead late in the game, everyone leaps from their seat and erupts with near-deafening excitement, Dad included.
He sits back down, catching his breath. As the clock winds down, the celebration ensues. The joy of a true fan is overwhelming and Dad gets to his feet again, slightly sweaty and shaking his head with relief. Hugs are being exchanged and conversation moves to the next playoff match-up.
Dad starts to head for the kitchen, stumbles slightly and falls face-first into the couch…clutching his chest. Everyone knows what’s happening and eventually hears the diagnosis from the emergency room doctor: “Massive heart attack.”
Dad’s on the table for an emergency coronary bypass. He didn’t know he had two partially blocked arteries and another that was fully blocked. That couldn’t hurt him, huh?
Obviously, this is an extreme example. My point is that we can lose out on a lot by claiming a lack of knowledge as our excuse. Are you squirming in your seat from lower back pain? Are you having headaches every day? Are you being passed over for promotions at work because of a lack of training?
If you don’t know why, then it’s not really a problem, right?
Related Posts
True Health Care Reform
It’s Not Just Your Heart That Benefits
Be All You Can Be