The Avoidance of Trouble

Don't cause trouble.

How much trouble is caused, thanks to the hesitancies of people that say "don't cause trouble"?

In the DiSC inventory of personality styles, the "S" category is in the clear majority. Something like 60-65% of the typical population is comprised of these "High Ss", which stands for such qualities as Steadiness, Sensible, Security, Sincerity, Stability, Safety, Specializing. 

The S group definitely keeps the world running. Give them a job to do, and they will give it 100% effort, with a focus on quality and excellence. They are dependable. They will be at their job station on time, and will leave on time. They do not like surprises, and do not like to rock the boat. 

It is hard to avoid the influence of an S. They're everywhere. They will give you advice, with words like "You don't want to . . . " when they have no idea what you want. But to them it is so crystal clear: Do what makes sense. Don't take chances. Don't rock the boat. Try to keep everything around you peaceful and predictable. 

They are overly cautious, but they keep all of us out of trouble, and we owe them a lot. 

The downside is that, someone's got to point out wrongdoing when it happens. And it will happen. Unless it's metaphysically obvious that a wrong has been committed, evil will never be consistently challenged, because the majority, the Ss, keep urging us "don't get involved. It's not your problem."

Hitlers are inevitable, because there are so many Ss (please bear with me here. Ss tolerate potential Hitlers for good reasons, to a fault). As long as the violence and injustice doesn't come too close to them, too early, of too great a magnitude, they will put up with it. They are the ultimate frog that can be cooked via slow heating of the water. 

And so, the advice: Don't cause trouble . . . works very well, because its advocates are in the majority, and we have an innate approval for whatever the majority wants. But the majority does not take chances, which means the majority usually is not very creative; and not much able to deal with unexpected developments.

There's a reason why the road to wisdom always ends on a mountaintop, at the feet of a single, solitary guru.

I wonder how many people in our society are risk-takers and innovators, but never try, because the dominant nay-sayers are simply too numerous. It seems more than plausible: a person that would normally act decisively and assertively may be brought to bay, by a culture that marginalizes and intimidates such attitudes. 

How many people, so treated, end up retreating into a shell, where they become of less value to society. Indeed they may even become a liability, if their will to advance great things is crushed by the prevailing culture. Hitler may be the expected result of forcing a creative risk-taker into a corner, and telling him to stop causing trouble. 

Today, this very day . . . look around, and see if there are problems we could solve, or prevent, if the environment wasn't so discouraging towards people that might actually see the problems. Make a note of the words people use, to get others to just shut up and sit down.