We were on the trail of the evil mastermind and closing in.  Headquarters had informed us that somewhere in this office was a secret passageway into the villain’s lair.  After covertly entering the facility and starting the search for the entrance, the system suddenly locked down.  We were trapped!  It had to be a double agent.  Now we had to beat both the villain’s traps and the traitor’s surprises.  Lucky for us, we are experienced agents and could not only find the hidden room but quickly enter the vault containing critical information on the whole operation.  Oh, did we mention that there was a bomb counting down to blowing up the entire place?  We had the information we needed, but now we needed to save ourselves.  Easy, press the reset button.  But, as one of us reached to press the button, the other noticed a hidden message.  Wait!  The message was to the henchmen, reminding them that the wiring was reversed as a final trap and not to press the reset button.  Whoa, that was a close one.  Knowing that little piece of information, we could defeat the system and escape.

Expertise comes from practice and repetition.  It develops experience and mental “muscle memory.”  However, one of the downsides of experience is the tendency to presume that you have all the information needed.  But things change.  In our personal and professional lives, we frequently face new circumstances, new information, and new ways of doing things.  If we assume things will work the way they have always worked, we miss nuances, the big picture, or new opportunities.  Part of resilience, personal development, and growth is seeking additional data points or new knowledge.  And, sometimes, it can save your life if you read the whole message before pressing the self-destruct reset button.