Everyone always thinks the adverse consequence won’t happen to them, that they are too smart to allow such a thing to happen, that genetics will keep them healthy, that their mental acuity is unsurpassed, that the rigorous physical conditioning they perform daily will shield them from injuries and bodily degeneration, that fate is everlastingly on their side, that their uniqueness and peculiar set of skills wed to incessant luck will protect them from ever experiencing the dark side of life like a disturbingly large percentage of earthlings must face. But how realistic is this? How grounded in logic is this approach to life? How likely are these people to be the glaring exception to a cardinal rule that everyone else must genuflect to? Not likely, let me assure you. Almost nonexistent, actually. These credulous fantasts are only deluding themselves. Lying to themselves. Rationalizing a dire situation to make it more attractive. Rationalization. Rationalizing is the skill these florid Panglossians employ most often to tranquilize their souls. Accordingly, this is the skill they are best at—bar none! They excel at inventing fake reasons to boost their egos and prop up their ersatz arguments. Until destiny cruelly intervenes and they no longer can.
Fred's Soapbox 