Well, it’s not like Canadian men don’t know about risky behaviour, or how to keep themselves safe. They just aren’t paying attention to what they already know. Instead of feeling worried about it , they felt ambivalent. Apathetic, even. And, this attitude was hurting them.
It was the wake up moment. The common thread linking all preventable risky behaviour is attitude—a deeply-held yet erroneous belief that bad things only happen to “other people.”
Based on our research, we knew we couldn’t offer people a lecture. We couldn’t tell them what to do, or “shock” them, or make them feel stupid about their decisions. Instead, we needed to reflect our understanding that people don’t make bad decisions out of ignorance. They make bad decisions because they truly believe bad things won’t happen to them.
Our job became clear: we needed to call attention to that little voice inside your head that knows that sometimes, bad things can (and do) happen to good people. How do we do that? By challenging your thinking. By pressing you on your long-held beliefs. By reminding you of what you already know. And yes, by making you feel a bit uncomfortable about the “oh well …” attitude that you may have about preventable situations.