While panicking at every slight sign of trouble is certainly unhealthy, it is far more dangerous to ignore clear signs of potential hazard without further consideration. Remember, we are all the descendants of people who heard the rustling in the bushes and ran like hell. The ones who shrugged and said, “It’s probably nothing,” didn’t have descendants.

The sooner you get out of the denial mode, the more time you have for deliberation. Indecisive people generally do not survive threatening situations unless they are just luck

Sources:

Hitch-22: A Memoir by Christopher Hitchens

Total Survival by James C.Jones