Five-minute free writes, Day 16 - "Avoid"

"Avoid" is a word I don't use often.  My tendency is to attack whatever is bothering me head-on. Over the years, there's been a certain lack of, shall we say, contemplation of the problem before this rushing in.  That impulsivity has gotten me into trouble more than once.

SO - as a little old lady, I'd like to think that I don't avoid problems, but neither do I shoot first and ask questions later.  I do try to mull things a bit more.  Interestingly, the advent of electronic communication has taught me my most valuable lessons in this regard; I have finally learned to rant and rave in and email, then delete it.

I do try to ask myself if my solution to a problem is going to have any obvious unintended consequences - that is certainly an outcome I do want to avoid. It's interesting how many possible outcomes one can think of, given a little contemplative time.  I think this feature of my aging process is actually a beneficial one.  In fact, I am going to add it to my list of "good things about getting old."

Thanks, Five-Minute Free Writes, for helping me figure this out!