Your first lessons on situation awareness are the three basic tenets: “always have your head swiveling”, “remain Condition Yellow” and “stay aware.”
In loose terms, they translate to the same thing. Ensure to always be conscious and cognizant of your environment, which is typically what and who you have around you. Be situationally aware wherever you may be.
There’s no questioning the importance of this. Without staying aware or conscious of your surroundings, the first clue you might get of danger is a blunt punch to your nape. Second clue? You feel someone dragging you across the floor.
That’s not a pretty scenario, is it?
Looking At Your First Lessons On Situation Awareness
“Situation awareness” is a phrase almost everyone throws around. You probably can’t count the number of articles that have asked you to “stay situationally conscious” without showing you how to. It’s one of those topics that gets thrown about so often that everyone assumes they know the nitty-gritty until it is time for action. Isn’t it?
You most likely think you’re a master of your environment, but answer this: who was the last man to walk into where you are right now? Or rather, who’s most likely to whip out a gun and scream “this is a robbery!” in the next five minutes? Any satisfactory conclusion? Perhaps not— now you see how vulnerable you are.
Maintain Relaxed Alertness
Here’s a quick introspection: how quickly are you able to find your bunch of keys when you’re frantically throwing every item around and about? 10 minutes? 15 or 20? Whichever it is, it wasn’t quick. Alternatively, what if you’re calmly shuffling through every item with a state of measured urgency? I bet you’d find it in 5 minutes max.
Apply that to the first lesson above. When alert, ensure you remain relaxed but keenly observant. Jumping at every sound or snapping at every passing man won’t do you no good. Instead, you have to stay super cool, calm, and collected every second. So, as you sit sipping your coffee in that café, remain calm as you observe and collect as much information as you can about everyone who’s around.
No, you’re not being paranoid. You’re watching out for yourself and maybe your 6–year–old daughter who’s swinging on the swing. This is the reason why you must remain relaxed as you collect and scrutinize every data you observe.
Maintaining a state of relaxed alertness can be challenging at first. So, I’d suggest that you practiced at home, class or work. That way, you’d be better equipped to do the same at the movies.
Trust Your Gut Feeling
Perhaps the finest reason you should appreciate being an animal (although higher) is your survival instincts. An inviolable rule popularly agreed among preppers is to always hearken to your gut. Remember that our forefathers roamed in the wild for years, so we could attribute our sharp survival instincts to them.
Think about it: you wake up in a good state, eat a healthy breakfast, pack your stuff and leave for work still in high spirits, but as soon as you walk past a man near an alley, you feel tense, your hairs stand, and your stomach is knotted. Don’t you think there’s a reason for the sudden, alarming feelings coursing through you? Why didn’t you feel uncomfortable walking past everyone else, why him and why here?
Or let’s say you have your headphones filling your ears as you take customer orders, and suddenly, as soon as a woman walks in, the air turns so giddy that you have to look around to see what’s wrong. Do you think that’s a coincidence? No, it isn’t. It’s your gut clawing at you, informing you to note a potential threat.
This does not mean you can shoot everyone you feel ominous towards, but, as humans, we are conditioned to spot danger subconsciously, especially when it is ill-disguised and about to happen. How many times have you ignored your guts to go ahead with a person and eventually regretted it?
Your warning bells are jingling for a good reason. So, the next time, your gut suggests danger, get away instantly, except you’re a cop on duty.
Weird or Ruffling Actions or Presence
Everyone should have a purpose for an activity or presence. You, for example, have a reason you’re sitting at a table at McDonald’s right now: let’s say you’re eating some snacks. The lady to your right is just digging into her burger, the same as the man to your left.
However, there’s a figure looking out of sorts sitting by the door, perhaps stealing hurried glances at everyone or exchanging suspicious looks with someone else. Or say, he is unwilling to meet your gaze, has not eaten out of his snack at all, and has his hands sneaking to his jacket.
Isn’t that ruffling enough? Why is he looking around as if waiting for the right time? Why is he exchanging ominous looks with another fellow? If those aren’t suspicious enough, why are his eyes shifty? Why is his hot meal untouched, and why are these hands under the table instead of above it? All these are good considerations to make.
If he isn’t hungry, why come sit at this table now despite the afternoon food rush? If he wanted calm, he could have gotten it somewhere else, now where different aromas litter the air, and everyone is making an order. Why?
Now, although this doesn’t guarantee your man is a criminal, you have to be more focused on him. Observe more. How do you suppose cops can handpick a suspect in an airport terminal? So, as soon as you detect three red flags in a presence, do well to leave the surroundings as quickly as possible.
Concluding Your First Lessons On Situation Awareness
There are several other considerations involved in being situationally aware. As earlier mentioned, these are merely the fundamental, first lessons on situation awareness.
In subsequent posts, we’ll highlight what else you should know. For now, learn to be mindful and aware, trust your instincts, and be wary of unusual actions or presences.