Five Ways to Increase Your Situational Awareness
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Situational awareness is the first step to ensuring your survival. During a crisis, including one that comes up suddenly, you can either choose to be proactive or reactive. By being proactive, you are more in control of the situation.
If you’re reactive like most people, your awareness level is low.
Sudden acts of violence that seem to spring out of nowhere can take you by surprise because you’re unaware of what is going on around you. There are thousands of people who have been victims of thefts, rape, robberies and murders – all because they weren’t aware of their surroundings.
All preppers should remember this mantra – if you’re not looking for it, you won’t see it coming!
The first step to raising your level of situational awareness is to look out for things that may seem amiss or out of the ordinary.
During a time of crisis, crimes will certainly skyrocket.
But even during peace time, criminals are constantly looking for an opportunity to strike and they want an easy victim. It’s going to be someone… but you don’t want it to be you.
If you notice the same guy walking by the street outside your house several times, especially if he looks unusually curious about your property, and you’ve never seen him before, do alert law enforcement. Something is amiss, and you need to be proactive.
He could be casing your house with intentions to break in at night. It’s better to err on the side of caution.
Be aware, though, that you should know your neighbours enough to know who should and should not be walking outside your house.
If you’re on a busy street with a lot of traffic, or there is a lot of turnover in rental apartments near you, then you can expect to see strange faces.
And be sure you know the difference between ‘casing the joint’ and ‘walking the dog’.
Just after buying a house in a small town, my father saw what he thought was someone breaking into our neighbours’ house. My father accosted … their son, who was quietly letting himself in the back door.
Along the same line, a young black man I know had the police called on him for walking his dog in the quiet residential neighbourhood where he had been living for three years.
You don’t want to get a reputation as that crazy (or racist!) neighbour. Situational awareness includes knowing what’s normal for your area and what’s not.
People by nature are not violent.
Most abhor confrontation and physical fights because they don’t want to hurt someone or get hurt in the process. That’s a normal human response.
With that said, though, there are some people who do enjoy causing pain. They may have anger issues or be mentally unsound.
Burying your head in the sand and pretending that everyone is wonderful and nice, and that no one will ever respond aggressively, will just make you into a victim. While I generally expect most people to be friendly, kind, and helpful, and almost everyone is, I remain very aware that ‘almost everyone’ isn’t the same as ‘everyone’.
If you’re on the road and someone cuts you off, getting into a physical altercation with them may be tempting, but it’s not the way to go. Stay calm.
If you’re outside and a group of young people make fun of you, do not approach them to ‘sort them out’ … let it go and move on.
The first rule of survival is to get away from a dangerous situation. I talk about this much more in my article on self defense tips for women that won’t get you killed.
If you’re in a bus late at night and someone who looks creepy gets on the bus, stay alert and be aware of what they’re up to without making direct eye contact. Do not bury your head in a magazine or glue your eyes to your mobile phone.
They could attack you in an instant and catch you unaware. It has happened before, and it will happen again.
Read next: Self Defense Weapons for Women (That Aren’t Guns)
Just making yourself look confident and like someone that is not to be ‘messed with’ is enough to put off most criminals.
The woman who walks upright and scans her surroundings confidently gives off the air that she can handle herself. Criminals will steer clear of her because she doesn’t seem like an easy target. They don’t know exactly what she might do, but she sure won’t be an easy target.
The man who shuffles meekly to his car while clutching a newspaper under his arm as he balances his cup of coffee while trying to use his phone pinched against his ear with his shoulder as he opens the car door, has the words ‘mugging victim’ written all over him.
Act brave.
Look tough and be alert… even if you’re quaking in your boots.
Presentation really matters.
Teach your children not to blindly trust strangers.
If someone calls the house pretending to do a survey and your child answers the phone, they shouldn’t disclose if there’s no one at home. That’s common sense advice that we were taught forty years ago. Teach your children to say “My parents can’t come to the phone right now. Could you call back later?”
The people that your kids meet on the internet can pose serious threats too. Be very aware of whom they’re chatting with online.
Last but not least, never be TOO trusting.
I’m a nice person who likes to help people, but I shake my head sometimes at people who put themselves in “you really should have know better” situations.
You’re alone in your car and a guy with car problems is trying to flag you down? You feel like you absolutely must stop because no one else is going to be coming by on this lonely road.
Keep driving and call the police to notify them about a stranded motorist.
If he’s honestly stranded, they’ll be able to help him much better than you can. And if he had people hiding in the bushes to car-jack you the minute you stepped out of your car, well, now you’re safe.
If you told a few of your neighbors that you’re storing food supplies in case of an emergency, they’ll probably laugh at your paranoia. However, when crisis strikes and there’s a food shortage in your area, guess who is the first person they’re going to think of approaching or robbing?
Yup… it’s you. Be careful of what you tell others. There can be severe consequences.
To wrap it all up, just know when something goes wrong or a crisis is happening around you, you need to be extra vigilant and aware of what’s going on around you.
And truthfully, we rarely get much warning about these things, so situational awareness can mean the difference between a crisis and a non-event.
Stay alert and you’ll be much more likely to pick up on little things that just don’t seem right. Your gut instincts will guide you. Listen to them and you’ll probably be safe.
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Five Ways to Increase Your Situational Awareness
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