≡ Menu

Self defense and owning your survival

IMG_1819The decision to learn emergency thinking skills and use self defense when necessary requires a mindset few are taught. Changing to a survival mindset isn’t easy.

First, people must come out of denial and never assume everything is safe or that today will just be like yesterday.

You must own your reality.

Second, people must make their body and mind ready to deal with danger or disaster.

You must own your preparedness.

Third, people must take responsibility for their lives and the lives they protect.

You must own your survival.

This type of ownership of ourselves is rare. Complacency, denial, and assuming others will take care of us is more the norm.

How do we move from wearing blinders to awareness and fully embracing our own personal safety?

1) Buy into it

Some of you will think:

“Well, Lori, the statistics say it’s unlikely anything will happen to me or my kids. I can’t think there’s a predator on every block, that’s just too paranoid. Besides, I live in Wyoming and nothing bad happens here except a blizzard now and again.”

It’s not about paranoia or self defense overkill. It’s taking wise, reasonable precautions. Hope for the best but prepare for the worse.

2) See the world with new eyes

Most problems can be avoided if we see them coming. We do this by being aware, honoring our intuition, and thinking with a self defense mindset. Just as the extra senses we use when driving in busy traffic become a habit, we can learn to keep an extra eye on our surroundings and pay more attention to patterns of behavior.

3) Self assessment

When you are training or teaching self defense everyday, your skill level operates at its peak. If people are not at this level, they may need reminders or cues to keep up awareness. Here are a few:

Car check — when going to or leaving your car, take 360-degree survey of your surroundings (without looking like that’s what you are doing).

What if — when you hear about a break-in, active shooter, or missing person, ask yourself what you would do if you had been the target.

Key up — each time you touch your car and house keys, use that moment to think about awareness, instead of habitually and blindly going through the motions of your day.

———-

Do work on your awareness skills?

Is self defense a big deal to you?

—————————————-

Thank you for visiting!

For more information on building your awareness and pro-active self defense skills, download my free e-book here.

Lori Hoeck

Photo credit:  bark

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Davina May 22, 2010, 1:25 pm

    Hi Lori.
    If on some level, we know we’re not prepared, that can be a stressor and we can appear vulnerable. When we are prepared I don’t see it as being paranoid at all. It lends to walking with an air of confidence and that appearance will be less likely to attract a predator in the first place.

  • Lori Hoeck May 23, 2010, 9:35 am

    Hi Davina,
    So true — we project confidence, or the lack of it, to the world, and predators can read both quite well.

  • Hilary May 23, 2010, 2:41 pm

    Hi Lori – I’ve always been fairly aware .. I think .. I’m not sure I know how to react or behave in some circumstances, but essentially I can keep myself out of danger .. and don’t follow the crowd, if there’s a challenge.

    The challenge .. I had someone else’s 10 year old daughter in the car, taking her to see her ‘twin’ my goddaughter .. up the motorway on the hottest day of the year in the UK 100 deg C .. simply doesn’t reach those levels usually .. we were ok, but I wasn’t happy and I wasn’t sitting in the queue .. so I went up the hard shoulder .. I shouldn’t have .. but I didn’t want the child or me to be inconvenienced by a ‘disaster’ .. just me = ok ..

    this week – there were a couple of 20 year olds outside by a plumbers van .. I watched them for a little while .. and wasn’t happy .. so I called the police help line – not emergency .. they put me through to emergency .. I live 20 yeards from the centre police station .. so they were down pretty quickly. Nothing serious – but one was taken away ..

    I avoid trouble if I can .. like in Johannesburg I walked in the road, rather than allow a ‘gang’ of youths pin me to a wall .. and nick what I had on me – not much .. but jolly disturbing ..

    As I get to my senior years .. I must learn some tricks .. once I’m free of my ties with my Ma .. then the door opens ..

    Thanks for the post – have a great week .. Hilary

  • Barbara Swafford May 27, 2010, 2:29 am

    Hi Lori,

    I try to be prepared, but reading your posts is always a good reminder to not let my guard down, especially in situations when I begin to think, “this is a safe….(whatever)”.

  • Lori Hoeck June 16, 2010, 1:06 pm

    Hi Hilary,
    Glad your awareness is pumped up and ready to go!

    Hi Barbara,
    I try to be prepared, too, but even I can’t be “on” 100 percent of the time. That’s where habits help.