Three amusing examples—from the worlds of pickpockets, farmers, and archeologists—illustrate the point that we must beware of unintended consequences.
Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com
Follow on social media:
@GretchenRubin on YouTube
@GretchenRubin on TikTok
@GretchenRubin on Instagram
@GretchenRubin on Threads
Get the podcast show notes by email every week:happiercast.com/shownotes
Get Gretchen Rubin’s newest bookLife in Five Senses to see how she discovered a surprising path to a life of more energy, creativity, luck, and love: by tuning in to the five senses. Now available – order here.
Visit Gretchen’s website to learn more about Gretchen’s best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
We’ve all been warned to beware of unintended consequences. It’s so easy to do something, or not do something, without thinking through the consequences of our actions.
But if we’re not careful, we may bring about a result we don’t want. In fact, if we’re not careful, sometimes our effort to prevent an outcome will actually promote it.
Here are some memorable examples.
Pickpockets sometimes lurk around “Beware of Pickpockets” signs, because when passersby see those signs, they pat their pockets or check their purses to make sure that their possessions are still safe. In this way, they show pickpockets exactly where to find any valuables.
It turns out that the classic cornfield scarecrow attracts birds, because the birds learn that a scarecrow is a sign of ample food.
After an archeologist announced that he’d pay handsomely for each ancient well-preserved artifact, enterprising people broke artifacts into smaller pieces.
Beware of unintended consequences.
These stories are good reminders that we shouldn’t assume we can always predict the consequences of our action, and we should pay attention to what actually happens.