Driver’s manuals tell us to stop at a yellow light unless we don’t have enough time to stop safely. Then and only then are we supposed to risk driving through. Most of us act more like the title character of the movie ‘Starman’ when we come to a yellow light. Starman, an alien, speeds through an intersection when the traffic light is yellow; the human in the car accuses him of not knowing how to drive. Starman say “I watched you very carefully. Red light stop, green light go, yellow light go very fast.”  So, even though we are supposed to stop,  many of us speed through instead.

How we respond to a sign or to another human telling us to be cautious, largely depends on our personality. Those with a tendency to be timid or overly cautious might slow down our forward motion or become frozen with fear when cautioned against a particular course of action. Others, wired to be daredevils or who adore tempting fate, might rush in hoping for a challenge.

Many different types of yellow lights or cautions are thrown at us in life. People frequently advise us to be careful. Sometimes their micro-expressions convey a judgment of our intended actions as foolhardy or dangerous. This might cause us to rethink our plans, but it could just as easily cause us to forge forward to prove them wrong or to spite them.

But why do people caution us in the first place? Sometimes they sincerely care about us and worry about our safety. But sometimes they are invested in our failure. Maybe they don’t want us to try so that there will be no hope of us succeeding. Maybe they’re not brave enough or don’t feel capable enough to try what we are planning to do. And, if they feel smarter or more accomplished than us, they might realize that their egos would have a difficult time accepting our success. Better to forestall the possibility of success with a well-placed word or two of caution.

Don’t be an idiot; listen to caution when’s it’s warranted. But don’t let others cause you to falter when you know you’re on the right path or are willing to find out if you are. That would be even more idiotic.

Starman quote: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088172/quotes