A few weeks ago we looked at our beloved comfort zones and gave you a new perspective on them.  

 

Explained why, if you’re wanting anything new, then your comfort zone can’t be quite as comfortable as you thought it was. After all, if it was, you wouldn’t be wanting anything new, would you? If you’re in any doubt, just go and think about it for a moment… 

 

Having exposed this great example of faulty logic – one that you’ve probably never thought to question before – let’s have a look at another one. And this one concerns risk. How we evaluate it. Or, more accurately, don’t evaluate it. 

With the annual fortnight in the sun beckoning for many people, it’s a good time to put the spotlight on one of the most pervasive summertime health myths. It’s repeated countless times every summer and goes like this: 

 

Sitting in the sun is dangerous; if you don’t use sunscreen your skin will burn and you’ll get skin cancer. 

 

Now if you stop and think about it for a minute, this message doesn’t make any sense at all. 

We were asked this question recently by a younger family member and it got us thinking about those Eeyore type days we all have from time to time. 

 

And, if you need a little reminder about Eeyore, he was one of Winnie the Pooh’s friends whose glass tended to be “half empty” rather than “half full.” 

 

Before we go any further let’s digress slightly with two of our favourite Eeyore witticisms: 

Scarcely a day passes without yet another horror story about the damage we’re doing to this beautiful planet of ours. The place we call “home.” 

 

Sadly much of this is due to a simple lack of commonsense – a seemingly rare commodity these days – as well as good old fashioned arrogance and greed; both on an individual and collective level. 

 

All too often the finger of blame is pointed elsewhere. To governments, multinational companies, other countries or whoever / whatever is the current scapegoat. However the unpalatable truth is that we each have a part to play in this. 

You may not have come across this quote before so, if you’re wondering what on earth we’re going on about, here’s the full version: 

 

“Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without having to get the facts.” E B White. 

 

We were reminded of this truism a few weeks ago, in the aftermath of the stabbing outside Westminster. And the furore surrounding a photo of a woman walking past one of the victims laying on the ground. 

 

So why was there such a furore about this particular woman?