A few thoughts...
1) Situational awareness is important and good habits can help improve your SA.
For example:
- I like to sit so I can see the door, or entrance in restaurants;
- I avoid middle lanes at stop lights and leave enough space in front of us so that I can drive us out of a situation by going left or right (a 5,000 pound pickup truck beats a 9 mm as a defensive or even offensive weapon pretty much every time at a stop light);
- I make eye contact with any shady looking people well before they are close enough to pose a threat; and
- I select my gas pumps for the field of view I'll have when fueling my vehicle. It usually is not the closest one to the stab and grab's entrance.
2) A practicing psychologist in one of my psychometric classes told me that the best diagnostic tool you have for an individual with a borderline personality disorder is the feeling in your gut you get after just a few minutes with them. I've found that carries over to many personality disorders. That tendency to disturb or irritate other people around them in a very short period of time is what makes it a disorder. If you encounter people that, follow that guy instinct, and remember them next time you see them.
3) Despite a back ground in counseling, psychology and criminology - or perhaps because of it, I'm a big believer in what folks sometimes call "instinct". I believe it's just a higher level of awareness, as some people pick up on non verbal communication far better than others. If you've got that skill set, by all means use it and pay attention to what it tells you.
4) Successful criminals tend to have well developed abilities to read people well. At a simple level, if you've observed someone sizing you up and you've established eye contact and thus communicated your awareness of them - more often than not, they will move on and find another target.
At a higher level, if you're not showing signs of fear or anxiety in a situation where your would be assailant expects to see it, they may not be able to determine exactly why you are not afraid or anxious, but they'll recognize that's the case. Unless they are psychotic, personality disordered, or under the influence of drugs, they'll usually honor the perceived threat and move on to an easier target rather than pushing a bad position and finding out why you are not afraid.
1) Situational awareness is important and good habits can help improve your SA.
For example:
- I like to sit so I can see the door, or entrance in restaurants;
- I avoid middle lanes at stop lights and leave enough space in front of us so that I can drive us out of a situation by going left or right (a 5,000 pound pickup truck beats a 9 mm as a defensive or even offensive weapon pretty much every time at a stop light);
- I make eye contact with any shady looking people well before they are close enough to pose a threat; and
- I select my gas pumps for the field of view I'll have when fueling my vehicle. It usually is not the closest one to the stab and grab's entrance.
2) A practicing psychologist in one of my psychometric classes told me that the best diagnostic tool you have for an individual with a borderline personality disorder is the feeling in your gut you get after just a few minutes with them. I've found that carries over to many personality disorders. That tendency to disturb or irritate other people around them in a very short period of time is what makes it a disorder. If you encounter people that, follow that guy instinct, and remember them next time you see them.
3) Despite a back ground in counseling, psychology and criminology - or perhaps because of it, I'm a big believer in what folks sometimes call "instinct". I believe it's just a higher level of awareness, as some people pick up on non verbal communication far better than others. If you've got that skill set, by all means use it and pay attention to what it tells you.
4) Successful criminals tend to have well developed abilities to read people well. At a simple level, if you've observed someone sizing you up and you've established eye contact and thus communicated your awareness of them - more often than not, they will move on and find another target.
At a higher level, if you're not showing signs of fear or anxiety in a situation where your would be assailant expects to see it, they may not be able to determine exactly why you are not afraid or anxious, but they'll recognize that's the case. Unless they are psychotic, personality disordered, or under the influence of drugs, they'll usually honor the perceived threat and move on to an easier target rather than pushing a bad position and finding out why you are not afraid.
