With seconds to spare, the heroes roll under the closing shutter door, just before it would all have been too late and they might have remained trapped in the underground car park for ever! Or some such thing. It is as if we are hard-wired to be responsive to tales of action and adventure. The slightest suggestion of excitement, the merest hint of drama and we are suddenly giving a matter our full attention, even if just moments earlier it hardly interested us. But you mustn't let that distort your judgement.
When we hear on the news that someone has been arrested and charged with a crime, can we automatically conclude that they must be guilty of it? If so, what are judges, courts and juries for? Are they just a rubber-stamping process intended to confirm the good judgement of the arresting officers? You and I are sophisticated and civilised. We know better than to fall into such a trap. Yet where else in your world might you now be leaping to a conclusion on the basis of insufficient information?  
To have an opinion is, to invite someone else with a different opinion to disagree with you. You may believe that you are right. You may even actually be right! But why is your opponent, with their equally strong belief, going to feel it differently? That's just one good reason among many, why it is always better to steer clear of profound, passionate, ideas and ideals. The more fluid a view of the world we can take, the less conflict we are likely to enter into. And you can afford to relax now. 
 Some people far prefer to talk than to act. Why actually do something when you can just have a conversation about it? Also, by having that conversation, you can broaden the field of consultation. Plus, if there are any official bodies to consult, permissions to seek or agreements to acquire, the more everything becomes subject to prolonged public debate, the greater the chance that all that will happen. Of course, what won't happen is the thing that needs to happen. You are not contemplating a short-cut, are you?  
Whenever we suspect that someone thinks badly of us, we become strongly tempted to give them good reason for their attitude - and we find it all but impossible to continue to extend a sense of goodwill towards our suspected critic. Yet some slights can be imagined. Some arguments are not really as intense as they appear. Give someone the benefit of the doubt today, and take a hopeful view of a situation that you could easily allow yourself to feel intimidated by. An attitude of negativity really isn't justified.
 What year is it? Can you name the president of the USA? And where do you live? With questions like these, experts sometimes have to make a rough and ready assessment of somebody's state of mental clarity. As long as they can give clear answers, it hardly matters how off-the-wall they may be in other respects. Yet the true gauge of sanity is a little more complex and subtle. Even if you can't fully articulate your reasons for making a particular choice today, it doesn't automatically follow that you are wrong. 
 A movement is gaining momentum. An idea is catching on. Where once nobody seemed remotely interested in a particular possibility, now everyone is paying attention. So, can you conclude from this that the right things are under discussion and the most appropriate decisions are being made? Well, here's another question. Are the songs that reach Number 1 always the very best records? Are the best-selling novels always the best written? Just because something is popular, we can't assume that it must have merit. You have already done most of what needs to be done - you have persuaded those who need to hear the arguments. And if you repeat yourself, there is a slight risk that you may alienate the very folk whose co-operation you have just attained. Or perhaps, in making your case again, you may persuade someone to think about it again - and, in the process, reach a different conclusion. Just to be on the safe side, curb your enthusiasm. Be ready to offer explanation if it is requested but be discreet and just quietly confident  now.
That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.' With these words Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon. He must have thought long and hard about what he was going to say. It is, depending on how you care to look at it, either a terrible omission or a chillingly prophetic slip that caused him use such a masculine form of wording for, to this day, no woman has stepped on the moon. It is so important when pioneering, to strive to set the right precedent. What might you be overlooking  now?
Are you being asked to supply more than you can deliver? Are somewhat unreasonable requests (or even demands) being made of you? Or does it simply seem that way the more you think about a set of frustrating circumstances? You might feel a whole lot better about almost everything in your world, if only one particular source of stress were alleviated. Despite your many misgivings, this is a much more feasible proposition than you might imagine. Allow yourself to entertain a little optimism now.