DEFINITION:
The term “cautiousness” refers to the personality trait of habitually taking great care and proceeding circumspectly when confronted with difficulties in the workplace.
ETYMOLOGY:
The English noun “cautiousness” and the related adjective “cautious” are attested from the seventeenth century. Both words are connected to the noun “caution,” which derives from the Classical Latin noun cautio, cautiōnis, meaning “caution,” “care,” “foresight,” or “precaution.”
Cautio is also related to the adjective cautus, meaning “cautious” or “wary,” which is also the past participle of the verb caveo, cavēre, meaning “to be on one’s guard” or “to beware.”
DISCUSSION:
Being “cautious” does not mean being indecisive or fearful.
Rather, “cautiousness” means being on one’s guard against making mistakes when attempting to solve problems.
A failure to exercise proper caution may not only lead to a failure to solve the original problem, but may even make matters worse.
Thus, “cautiousness” involves exercising proper judgment, or prudence, regarding which possible courses of action would actually help to solve a given problem, and which would not.