In my previous post I mentioned the importance of situational awareness. Today I’d like to expound upon that concept and maybe even provide a little beginner’s situational awareness training. Just because I say it’s for beginners doesn’t mean it’s not helpful for everyone. And, if we’re really honest with ourselves, we are not as situationally aware as we think we are. This is not an all encompassing post. You won’t become the worlds most alert person just by partaking of my limited knowledge. However, as you practice these principles and change certain behaviors your attentiveness will increase. You will find yourself one step closer to being able to Defend Your Space.
3 Stages Of Situational Awareness
First we need to identify the 3 stages of situational awareness. This is a cyclical process. You will constantly be going through the 3 steps as you move from place to place, situation to situation, moment to moment. As exhausting as that sounds, it’s actually as instinctive and automatic as breathing.
- Observation. This is the information gathering stage. Use your eyes to see, your ears to hear, and your nose to smell. I told you it was simple. These are basic functions of your body for a reason. This is how your brain gathers Intel. Your senses provide your mind with the necessary information.
- Interpretation. This is where your brain takes the aforementioned information and interprets the data. Experiences in your life, lessons you’ve heard in school and/or home, and things you have seen or read all provide reference material to your brain. Your brain then uses the new information observed and cross-references that data with this reference material to create a conclusion.
- Anticipation. This final stage is where your brain tells you what is going to happen. You’re not a psychic, or maybe you are. But for the purposes of this article I will assume you are not gifted with a knowledge of future events. However, your brain can predict an outcome based on the conclusion of the data received and the references available.
Sounds complicated? Let me give you some examples. I’m sure you’ve experienced at least one of these situations.
You are in a waiting room. You are sitting next to a young woman holding a baby. That baby begins to get fussy. A short moment later you detect an odor, an unpleasant yet familiar odor. The baby begins to cry. You see this young woman grab the diaper bag and head towards the restroom. What is she going to do?
This time you find yourself in a park. You notice a young boy pushing his younger sister on the swing set. You hear the little girl say she’s done and watch her let go of the chains. However, you also notice the young boy did not hear his sister and pushes her anyway. What is going to happen to the little girl?
Last scenario. It’s very late at night. You’re walking alone to your car in a fairly empty parking lot. You notice a man standing in the shadows. He is wearing a hat that is pulled down to cover his face. You can see his gaze following your movement. You see he looks around to see if anyone else is nearby, then he starts walking quickly towards you. What is he going to do?
Hopefully this last scenario isn’t personally familiar, but your brain and your gut did answer this question for you.
Eyes On The Prize
Training tip #1: Keep your eyes open!
Your brain needs the critical information provided by your gift of sight. Avoid doing things that hinder this input process. “What do you mean?” you ask. PUT YOUR PHONE AWAY! A common phrase in my household with two teenage daughters, but it’s imperative to your safety. I know it’s impractical to never be on your phone. But do your best to limit the distraction. When you’re in an unfamiliar environment, when you’re near unknown people, and especially when you’re in motion.
What happens if you are in the last scenario, walking to your car in the dark, but instead of observing the man in the shadows you’re scrolling TikTok? Is knowing the latest trend more important than your own life? This may seem like an over exaggeration, but this does happen to people every day.
Can You Hear Me Now?
Training tip #2: Listen.
I personally love music. All kinds of music. Music is a powerful medium to express emotion and poetry that can be felt in ones heart. However, this habit of people wearing ear pods 24/7 is detrimental to your safety. When you’re alone, safely locked in your home, by all means drown out the world with music. But when you are in public you need to allow your brain access to surrounding sounds. Honking cars, police sirens, people screaming, loud footsteps, are all audio cues your brain uses to evaluate your risk level.
Knowing Is Half The Battle
Training tip #3: Knowledge is power.
Pretend you never knew what poo smelled like ( wouldn’t that be awesome). And that you had never seen a baby, nor had any sort of understanding about caring for a baby. Without any of this information you would never guess that the young woman was going to change her child’s diaper. It would have been impossible for your brain to conclude that result without the necessary references.
Are you familiar with body language? Do you know the signs of aggression? Have you read about tricks and traps used to abduct woman into sex trafficking? Hopefully you’re at least a little familiar with these very limited examples. Either way, learn all you can. The more knowledge you have the more references your brain can use to predict an outcome.
I want to reiterate, I don’t want you to live your life in fear and paranoia. The purpose of education isn’t so you will suspect every person is out to get you, and nobody can be trusted. The purpose of being situationally aware is so you can feel safe, be relaxed, enjoy life, because you have given your brain plenty of information to accurately determine your level of risk.
Code Red
Training tip #4: Threat identification.
OK, back to our favorite scenario. All the information has been processed and your brain and gut are telling you the man in the shadows is a threat. At this point your body, which unfortunately isn’t always our ally, will flood with adrenaline. This drug can inhibit your brain from working properly.
The body has 3 modes in this situation.
- Fight
- Flight
- Freeze
Unfortunately the body also doesn’t let you choose which of the 3 to do. You will instinctively pick one. This is where training and practice are crucial. You have to override the body and train your brain to remain in control. Freeze is rarely the correct option, unless you come across a bear in the woods. But day to day you need to run to safety or fight.
You were observant to your surroundings when you parked your car. You know that just 20 yards away is a busy street with a taxi stand. You rehearsed this scenario in your head many times before as you have had to make this lonely dark walk to your car. You are able to remain focused enough to run from the shadow man to the busy street to flag down help. The man runs off and you’re safely escorted back to your car after filing a police report.
Or; you are familiar with the area, you know that there isn’t anyone around. You again have rehearsed this scenario in your head dozens of times as you’ve made this walk in the past. As soon as you notice the man move in your direction you remove the pepper spray from your [purse, pocket, backpack, etc]. You point the spray in his direction. He will run away, or get a face full of mace. Either way you’re able to make it to your car, drive to safety, and call the police to report the incident.
Repetition, Repetition, Repetition
Training tip#5: Practice makes perfect
Nobody becomes an expert on the first try. To be proficient in something requires repeated and consistent practice. Please don’t just read this post and then never think about situational awareness again. This is something that should be done multiple times a day, just as a standard practice. Pay attention, become more educated, mentally (and physically if possible) rehearse dangerous scenarios. Be prepared. Do you carry personal protection? Research local laws and carry the level of protection you are comfortable with (mace, a knife, a firearm, etc). It is always better to have protection and not need it than need it and not have it.
Homework
OK, today I’m giving you an assignment. Next time you’re in a public place look around a moment, then close your eyes. Try to recall how many people are in the room. How many women, men, and children? What are they wearing? How close are you to an exit? How many exits are there?
Keep your eyes closed, if it’s safe and sane to do so, and just listen. What sounds do you hear? What type of machines do you hear? What are people talking about? Does anyone sound angry, annoyed, or hostile?
Lastly, imagine a worst-case scenario. What would you do to defend your space?
We All Need A Little Help From Our Friends
My goal is to help you be safe. I hope today’s discussion was useful. Please leave me any comments, questions, or critiques below on ways I can be more helpful to you and achieve my goal.
Stay safe,
KG