Why Do People Wait for Bad Things to Happen Before Taking Action?

There’s a phenomenon I’ve observed over the years. people tend to wait until bad things happen before they decide to take action. It’s almost as if we need reality to punch us in the face to finally move. What fascinates me most is that, deep down, we often know what’s coming, yet we still do nothing about it.

I’ve always wondered why this happens.

After some time and experience, I think I’ve started to understand. We get too comfortable. We cling to a false sense of security, even when our circumstances aren’t ideal. We deceive ourselves and live in a version of reality that we’ve softened just enough to tolerate. It’s not that we don’t see the warning signs, it’s that we choose to ignore them to avoid discomfort.

But when reality finally hits, and it always does, it’s much harder to recover if you’re unprepared. It’s already difficult to deal with challenges when you’re in a good mental space; imagine trying to handle them when your mind is overwhelmed, your emotions are scattered, and your confidence is low. In that state, even simple decisions feel impossible.

That’s why I’ve learned not to wait for things to fall apart. If you can see a problem coming, start preparing now. Create a plan. Build your mental resilience. So when the challenge arrives, and it will, you’re not caught off guard. In fact, you might even smile when it comes, because you’ll already have a solution in place.

Don’t wait for the storm to wake you up. Be awake before it hits.