A problem caught early often looks too small to justify the attention that saved you.

When you catch something early, the fix is trivial, and the triviality makes it hard to feel that anything was accomplished. The disaster you prevented is invisible, so the whole episode registers as a small unnecessary task. That mismatch is why early attention feels unrewarding despite being the highest-value work available.

When you handle something small, take a moment to name what it would have become. It is the only way this kind of work ever gets acknowledged, including by you.