"you should have thought about that before it happened."?

Question

How does this mentality help? You have already done it, you can't take it back. And how would any human being be able to predict every out come of an act before hand? IF you beleive that this quote should be used regularly as a way to respond to those in need, please explain why.

Answer 1

It's not about taking it back, it's about not doing it again. Learning good judgment is, to some extent, learning what happens when you don't use it. Most people only touch a hot stove once, for example. Or as my son once told me, "Wow, Dad, you sure learned a lot of things the hard way."

So here's the thing, and I realize I'm probably throwing away ten points by saying this, but if someone hears "you should have thought about that before it happened" regularly, it means that the person who hears it needs to learn to think about the consequences of his or her actions. It means that there was a probable, perhaps even an obvious outcome of the action that person took -- an outcome that the person's friends, associates, and perhaps parents may even have warned the person about when he or she started on the path that led to the trouble they're in now.

The other pertinent quote here is, "Good judgment comes from experience, which comes from bad judgment." Which highlights the only worthwhile use of your quote, which is with compassion for the victim and in the spirit of sharing enlightenment and promoting personal and intellectual growth. We CAN learn to predict the obvious outcomes of our actions, and better still, to PREPARE for them. And, we don't always do it.

So if you hear this phrase, consider that it is pointing out the experience that eventually leads to good judgment. Make a note to yourself that putting the eggs under the watermelon is likely to squash them, or that going out without a coat in the snow is likely to make you cold, or that leaving an unattended candle burning near a pile of crumpled papers might burn the house down, or whatever it is that you hear it about. And next time, think about it before you pack the groceries, or have a snowball fight in a T-shirt, or leave a candle next to the newspaper.

Answer 2

The truth is that many situations are predictable and we choose to ignore that a possible bad outcome will be the probable outcome of our actions.
To say "oh well, what's done is done" is a cop-out. When a situation occurs that isn't as we would have wanted it, it's often because we made a bad choice, and are reluctant to accept responsibility for having made that choice.
While " you should have thought about that before" might not be the most compassionate of positions to take, I find it to be the appropriate answer to the drunk driver that killed someone, and is now crying about his jail term.

Answer 3

I don't necessarily feel this statement should be made regularly, but the problem it is getting at is that most people don't think of ANY of the consequences of their actions. Hopefully, in the future, the person will have learned to stop and think before acting.

Answer 4

What? Your quote doesn't make any sense. Generally, people need to consider the outcome of their actions. Are you of the opinion that people should do whatever they want, disregard the consequences, and then have no repercussions for their actions?

Your quote says "you should have thought about that before it happened". Usually I hear "you should have thought about that before you did ". Meaning that people need to take responsibility for considering the possible outcomes of their decisions.

Answer 5

I believe that people use this quote, at least I do, just as a react to the bad thing that happened, I don't think they really mean "you should have thought about that before it happened", I think it's just a way of saying: oh my god or why did you do that, or it's just a way of expressing there bad feeling about what happened.

Answer 6

No you're right you can't predict what's going to happen. I say "think about it before you do it" and it helps me b/c I used to have a tendency of doing things and then regretting it later and wishing that I had thought it through.

Answer 7

I guess sometimes when the consequence is an obvious one, this saying is used. I'm not sure if it is intended to make people feel better though. l always thought of it as a reprimand.

Answer 8

it means if you have a brain use it. think first.how does that help people your the smart one. you figure it out.duh.