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Archives for October 2018

Why We Avoid the Hard Stuff: The Ostrich Paradox

October 17, 2018 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

ostrich burying head in sand ignoring problemsWe fail to evacuate when advised and then we rebuild in flood zones. Helmets aren’t worn. We avoid the risk of “crying wolf” instead of sounding the alarm. In the face of certain disaster, many of us avoid the hard choices and bury our heads in the sand like the fabled ostrich. [BTW, that’s totally a myth.]

We also go to great lengths to avoid talking about long term care planning. Of the millions of Americans who qualify (by age and income criteria), only about 10% actually own long term care insurance (LTCi).

In his recent Forbes column (Sept 2018), Howard Gleckman reported on this avoidance behavior. He wrote,

“Americans are unable to plan for a catastrophe, even one we know is coming. Our brains cannot, for some reason, process this. Thus, in the face of an approaching calamity many of us…do nothing.”

There’s a Storm Coming

The residents along the Carolina coastline, for example, were given multiple warnings to evacuate before the arrival of Hurricane Florence. Despite the mandatory evacuation orders, many people chose to ignore the oncoming danger and stayed in their homes.

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, suffered from pancreatic cancer for years. Despite her worsening condition, she never made a will, leaving her $80 million estate vulnerable to hefty taxes before her children receive any inheritance. All because she never faced the need for advanced planning.

When We Avoid Information

“A person should never avoid information, because information can never hurt a decision”, states economist Joshua Tasoff.  And yet, we go to great lengths to do just this. Listen to why in this wonderful Hidden Brain podcast.

Denial defies logic. Because it’s strictly emotional.

Mr. Gleckman refers to a book called “The Ostrich Paradox: Why We Underprepare for Disasters“, by Robert J Meyer.

From this book and Mr. Gleckman’s column, here are some reasonable explanations of why we often behave irrationally in the face of coming disaster:

Excessive optimism: They know the storm is coming and still believe that, magically, they will be unharmed. They see an aging population getting older and more frail and still believe that their own experience will somehow be different.

Herd thinking: Nobody else is preparing, so why should I? Saving isn’t sexy. Let’s plan our next exotic vacation!

Myopia: It’s easier to focus on our short term needs and desires. Planning for the long term might require sacrificing our current wants and channeling that money into some prudent investments. That’s inconvenient. (Oh, the stories I could tell you about this one.)

Amnesia: Our minds can block bad memories. We downplay how bad that last storm was. And we forget how hard it was watching our parents get all the care they needed in their later years.

Inertia and simplification: We’ve all experienced “Analysis Paralysis”. Faced with complicated matters, we freeze up and end up making no choice. Unfortunately, the long term care industry is also part of this problems. Policies can be difficult to understand. It’s easier to shove them into the desk drawer, unread and unsigned.

Not even the ostrich buries its head in the sand. Why should you? When you are ready to start taking some proactive steps for your future, click here. You will receive a no-obligation quote on your own Long Term Care insurance plan.

 

Filed Under: Elephant in the Room, Helpful Information About LTC Tagged With: long-term care, LTCi

Denial of the Facts Does Not Make Them Less True

October 10, 2018 by Honey Leveen Leave a Comment

woman with fingers in her earsResistance to planning for long term care and doubting that human activities have created global warming share some very interesting roots. What a revelation to me! Author Karie Marie Norgaard connected these dots in her book, Living in Denial.

In the book, Norgaard examines the thought processes behind those who choose to deny the existence of climate change. I read an essay by Andy Skuce in which he takes a deep dive into Norgaard’s research and understanding about Denial.

Types of Denial

The book divides denial into 3 categories:

  • Literal denial. This happens when people don’t trust the facts, even when overwhelmingly supported by objective and thorough scientific data. We often see this from “Climate Skeptics”.
  • Interpretive denial. This one gets slippery. It accepts the facts (climate change is real), but reinterprets the meaning so it doesn’t sound like a real threat. That removes their responsibility to make proactive changes, since it’s not a real problem.
  • Implicatory denial. In this case, the facts and the interpretations are generally accepted. But then, “the psychological, political or moral implications that conventionally follow” are discounted and ignored. Climate change is already too advanced for anyone to do anything about it, so I’m off the hook and don’t have to make hard choices.

Denying the Need for Long Term Care

If these thought processes sound familiar, these are exactly the same behaviors I’ve been writing about throughout my career as a Long Term Care Insurance Specialist. Let’s run through these again:

  • Literal denial. Not trusting the facts — No matter how many studies get funded, no matter how may reports get written. There are always going to be people who refuse to accept that they are probably going to need financial help to cover their future medical care.
  • Interpretive denial. Accepting the facts: Yes, we’re living longer. Yes, we’ll probably need help in our later years. BUT… we’ve always taken care of each other. Or our family is ready to step in to help. We’ll be fine.
  • Implicatory denial. I know, we’ve got some uncertain times ahead of us. BUT… ‘they’ say that there’s no real reliable coverage. Or it costs too much. What can I do at this point?

For almost 30 years I’ve had well-educated, affluent friends and acquaintances make excuses to avoid the conversation about reasonable, responsible long term care planning. Intellectually, these people know better. They are making sound decisions in other areas of their lives, but they refuse to accept the fact that after age 65, they might be one of the 70% of us are going to need some sort of long-term care.

Denial is not a river in Egypt and the first step is easy. Click here to receive your no-obligation quote on your own Long Term Care insurance plan.

Filed Under: Denial, Elephant in the Room, Helpful Information About LTC Tagged With: Climate Change, Global warming, Honey Leveen, Karie Marie Norgaard, Living in Denial, Long Term Care insurance, long-term care, LTCi, www.honeyleveen.com

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Fax: 281-829-7177

Email: honey@honeyleveen.com

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Honey Leveen, LUTCF, CLTC, LTCP
“The Queen, by Self-Proclamation, of Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCi)”
404 Royal Bonnet
Ft. Myers, FL 33908

Phone: 713-988-4671
Fax: 281-829-7177

Email: honey@honeyleveen.com

Email: honey@honeyleveen.com

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