If you aren't practical often you are soon dead or seriously injured

I have observed this all my life. Don't get me wrong I always have been a physical risk taker too. I think this was a psychological reaction from almost dying of whooping cough and childhood epilepsy. So, the closer I could come to death without actually dying the more alive I felt always.

But, as I grew from my teens into my 20s I began to realize as friends often died from this kind of behavior of being too idealistic and not practical enough that I soon might be dead from my behaviors too.

This came to a head for me at age 26 when my son was born so I had to say to myself, "I cannot go on like it doesn't matter whether I live or die anymore, I have to take seriously that I am a father so my son is raised right like I was.

And so I became a pragmatist and even though I would say I'm an idealistic Pragmatist I'm still at core very very practical about everything in life now. Because otherwise I wouldn't still be alive now in my late 60s.