The | Unthinkable

The Unthinkable: Why We Refuse to Look, and Why We Must

And when it arrives, you don’t want to be standing there saying, “I never thought this could happen to me.” The Unthinkable

You want to say, “I saw this coming. I prepared. Let’s go.” The Unthinkable: Why We Refuse to Look, and

Not to manifest it. To disarm it.

Because the unthinkable rarely announces itself with a drumroll. It arrives quietly, disguised as “just this once” or “it’ll probably be fine.” To disarm it

That’s the unthinkable. Not the impossible. Not the fantastical. But the deeply, terrifyingly possible scenario we refuse to prepare for. In 2012, most people in Hurricane Sandy’s path thought, “It won’t be that bad.” In 2020, even as ships anchored offshore, business leaders whispered, “Supply chains are resilient.” In 2023, as AI models improved at a startling rate, regulators said, “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

That’s not pessimism. That’s the most optimistic thing a person can do: believe they are strong enough to look at the dark, so they can build a light that actually lasts. What’s one “unthinkable” scenario you’ve been avoiding? Not to scare you—but to make you ready. Drop a thought below.