“He’s basically grounded in reality and he doesn’t want to believe his neighbors are up to something strange, you know, cause if they were he’d have to deal with it, right?”

This was the line from one of my favorite movies of all time, The Burbs, with Tom Hanks.

How many of us are guilty of this?

The irony of this statement is the belief that in most of our own realities bad things do not happen. The funny thing is most of us live in a reality that does not exist. Good people get hurt, bad things do happen to good people, and you have no control over many things in your life. While you may believe different it doesn’t mean you are right.

What does this mean? Well it means many different things depending on the situation you are in. Here are some examples.

Business Owners – You have a great idea or product you know is needed. You know the market and understand the industry. You know your idea or product will be successful because there is a need.

Parents – you are a good parent who works hard and gives your children what they need. You notice a few behavioral problems, but believe that it is “just the age” and will work itself out.

The Employed – rumors are running rampant in your department about possible layoffs. You have been there longer than anyone and believe your job is secure. You have made it through other rounds of layoffs before and it should be the same now so you ignore the rumors.

But in the end where does that leave you. In the case of the business owner it leaves them without a plan on how to get their product in the hands of the customer.

The parent believes it is just a phase and ignores it. The child learns bad habits that will last throughout their lifetime.

The employed ignore the rumors, yet at the end of the month they find a pink slip and wasted 4 weeks they could have been looking for other opportunities.

What should we learn? We cannot take anything as a guarantee or a sure thing. It is often easier for us to ignore the obvious and pass it off as nothing. We do not have to confront the issues at hand and can remain oblivious and happy.

So what reality are you living in and what things are you ignoring so you don’t have to deal with them?