Good nurses notice the small change before the big alarm. Learn to read the quiet signs.

Serious problems almost always announce themselves quietly first. A lot of real skill is just the ability to read the early, unalarming signs: the slightly off tone in a friend’s voice, the knee that aches a bit sooner each practice. Waiting for the loud version means waiting until the cheap fix has expired.

Pick one thing you care about keeping and decide now what its early sign would be. When that sign shows up, act in the same week rather than waiting for proof. Small and early almost always beats big and late.