Minor mishaps get your attention?

What’s been happening to you of late?

If you’ve been having close encounters of the accidental kind, it’s time to give some personal attention to the causes.

While many ordinary people seldom suffer a mishap, others seem to trip over things, cut their fingers, barely miss a pedestrian on the road, or get hit by something falling off a shelf.

According to the Center for Injury Research and Policy, there is no such thing as an accident-prone personality. It can’t be blamed on genetics.

Doctors at the Center, a part of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, say reasons can be found for minor mishaps and near-miss accidents.

When a rash of unfortunate incidents begins, they say, it’s up to the individual to uncover the causes.

They suggest that you note each time you have an accident and see if you can identify a common theme. For instance, maybe you are more likely to trip when you are rushing to get to an appointment. Or perhaps minor mishaps could be more likely to occur on days when you have not had enough sleep. Or you could be more likely to suffer a near-miss when you and your mate are on the outs.

You could find, as one subject did, that some trouble is rooted in your work environment and in circumstances you can control.

As an example of a small job-related injury, one person related the story of how she was cut near her eye. A file folder was stuck in the drawer and struck her when it finally gave in to her pulling.

The cure for this one is obvious: Reorganize file drawers, so they aren’t so crowded.

Wisdom dictates that each near-miss be examined.