The British place high value on matching their response to the actual severity of the problem. A minor difficulty should not provoke a major reaction. A major crisis should not be met with a shrug.
The ability to assess a problem accurately and respond at the right level of intensity is treated as a core competence. This operates emotionally—staying measured rather than panicking or dismissing—practically, in terms of the resources committed, and socially, in terms of how much attention and energy the problem receives. Overreaction is seen as a failure of judgment, not as evidence of taking the problem seriously. Before you can solve a problem well, you need to size it up accurately.
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