While it’s not common practice any longer, it’s a dynamic we still often see or could use in everyday situations. A canary was sent into a coal mine to test the air. If it died, miners knew they could descend into the coal mine due to dangerous gas levels. The canary’s response was an early indicator of potential danger.

We sometimes don’t get early indicators of serious issue in our everyday lives, whether it’s a family situation, work practice, or health concern. Sometimes we get them but ignore them. We don’t want it to be true. We want to test it. We don’t think we have time to deal with it. Or perhaps we try to deal with it, but people around us don’t listen. Perhaps those people see more of it than they’re willing to admit. Just like us, at times, they don’t want to do the work or take the time that evaluating and remedying the situation would require. Sometimes, no one around us wants to believe the canary died of anything other than natural causes. Worse yet is when people try to make us believe it’s our fault. After all, we’re the ones who brought it up. Not everyone wants to see the reality of a situation, especially when it would require taking some responsibility. Changing the situation to make it safe—for everyone—takes humility, patience, and collaboration. We can’t keep sending people into the mine, ignoring the issue, and we can’t fix all the issues ourselves.

Perhaps everything in your life right now feels safe and controllable. Perhaps you’ve lived with the potential danger for a while, and you’ve grown used to it. Perhaps the degradation has happened so slowly that, if you’re honest, you’re now in a significantly damaging situation because of letting the water get just a little hotter one degree at a time. It’s now about to scald you—or others.

Pay attention to the canary.