Un-Accidental Accidents
| January 9th, 2009 by Robert | Word Count: 686 | Reading Time 2:45 | 2,487 views |
We all like to think that most of the bad things that happen to us and the world are true “accidents.” Accidents meaning that unforeseen circumstances come together in some random reality causing some drastic event to occur that should not have occurred in our normal lives… an accident… a fluke… or simply bad karma. But, I have a much different take on the accidents we experience in our lives. I believe many of our misfortunes are actually probable events that we simply mistake for being accidents.
Sure, if you compare the statistical outcomes, you can term the smaller chanced outcomes as accidents, but are they truly accidents if you have prior knowledge of their potential outcome? To me, an accident is a completely random event that could not have been avoided and you just happened to wander across the path of an unavoidable accident.
Situations arise everyday in our lives in which we face decisions and the associated potential outcomes. You are late for work so you decide to speed. Not a big deal, that is unless there is a cop in the vicinity… But, what happens if one day that you are speeding along, and you happen to run off the road a bit and overcorrect and get into an accident? Was it really an accident? It’s a fairly simple example, but I’m sure you get the idea and logic behind it.
All too often, we put ourselves into situations which we could have missed experiencing the “accidents” in our lives. We must pay attention to all outcomes when faced with decisions, whether they are large or small. Sometimes, the flukes are actually quite likely to happen, we just choose to dismiss any potential bad things that may happen and focus on the things that we want to happen.
Most of the time, we make the right decisions. As we get older, we acquire more experience and wisdom and we can apply forethought to how we proceed in our lives. However, I see other people in the world around me make decisions and choose paths which I would never do. Their paths are littered with potential hazards and disastrous outcomes. They are either oblivious to these outcomes or discount the possibilities outright. But, when the bad things happen, and they often do, they appear to be completely flabbergasted when the accidental events occur in their lives.
I’m not saying that we must over analyze everything we do and if there is any chance whatsoever for bad things to happen, to not do it. I am saying that just because a bad result is a small percentage, it doesn’t mean it is by default an accident. One in a million, yes, that’s an accident. A five percent chance of a bad outcome, that’s not an accident. That’s a potentially likely event.
Start thinking more about the decisions that you make each day. Start focusing more on your actions. Realize that you are in control of many of the “accidents” in your life. You can nearly stop your own participation in creating the “accidents” in your life. Yes, there will still be bad things that happen to you and me, but that’s because this is the real world. Accidents happen, but in my opinion, the majority we have experienced, we could have avoided by simply making better decisions.
If you sit back and truly think and be honest with yourself, how many true accidents have you experienced? How many of your perceived accidents did you play a major part in creating? If I look back at my life, I think the 80/20 rule can apply nicely. 80% of the accidents in my life, I played a part in. The other 20% were probably unavoidable and there was nothing I could have done to avoid the outcomes. Going forward, I think… no, I believe… that I can drop that percentage even further. How about you? What have your experiences been as far as accidents in your life? Did you play a part in your own or were they truly accidents which were completely unavoidable?
on January 10th, 2009 at 2:46 pm:
Working in the safety field and doing investigations, you can see that with the exception of extremely rare cases, there are no such things as accidents. You can usually find the fault with someone being careless, making a mistake in some way or other.
Many safety officials don’t even like to use the term “accident”… they go for the word “incident” instead. Why? I think many feel that when using the word accident, it somehow gives a person the feeling that it’s alright to act in a careless manner if they choose to and no matter what the outcome, they’ll be off the hook…after all, it was just an accident and it could have happened to anyone, right?
on January 10th, 2009 at 10:38 pm:
It sounds like the safety industry has similar viewpoints as I have explained. The distinction of fault brings a much different viewpoint into the accidents, or incidents.
I also agree that calling bad situations an accident removes the responsibility of those involved because it does imply that nothing could be done. Most of the time, an accident is an incident that could have been prevented.
on January 12th, 2009 at 1:19 pm:
Very good article Robert!!!!
I am glad to see that some of our younger generation can actually see what is going on around them and be able to tell the difference between an accident and an incident. An example that some people like to brag about, “I was so loaded Friday night that I don’t even remember how I got home.” If and when these people have a wreck they call it an accident but it was actually pre-meditated in my way of thinking.
Poor supervision – Supervisors that turn their heads when they see an employee doing an unsafe act, don’t want anyone to be mad at me. This happens a lot more than people want to admit.
Poor training – Trainer rushes the employees through because they are needed on their job right away, or this movie is really boring and some of the scenes are really disgusting, so lets fast forward through this part.
Associates get too complacent on their jobs, taking short cuts, wearing ear phones and listening to music or whatever they listen to, talking to other associates when they should be paying attention to their jobs. etc.
New drivers getting their licenses and or C.D.L. before they are ready. $500.00 used to buy your C.D.L. even if you couldn’t drive a truck.
This list could go on and on and it affects everyone, whether you cause the incident or whether you were injured by someone else not acting responsible
on January 12th, 2009 at 5:37 pm:
Thank you! I do appreciate compliments and the comments!
I definitely agree with your examples. All too often we simply call things accidents to remove all guilt associated with the incidents. It makes us feel better because owning the responsibility for the bad things that happen is not one of our better traits as a generation.
Nothing is my fault right? In reality, most everything is our own fault.
on January 14th, 2009 at 9:46 am:
Ran across this today and thought I would add it:
Because God’s sovereignty is in control, accidents are just incidents in God’s good plan for you. Because every day of your life was written on God’s calendar before you were born, everything that happens to you has spiritual significance. Everything!
Rick Warren
on January 15th, 2009 at 7:41 am:
Great quote!