The following post is from Jake Steinmann who runs Active Defense Personal Training, LLC.
Evaluating Your Routine
Many people live in a denial mindset that says “it won’t happen to me.” If you’re reading this blog, you’ve probably abandoned that mindset. If you haven’t, you should start.
People who break out of the denial mindset sometimes slip too far into a mindset that says something like “violence can happen any time, anywhere, and you must be on your guard constantly!” This mindset can be almost as problematic as the denial mindset.
First of all, it’s just impossible to actually accomplish: no one, not even the most elite warrior on the planet, is 100% on guard all of the time. If nothing else, you have to sleep, and even when you’re not sleeping, life distracts. It’s what life does.
Second, living with that sort of constant hyper-vigilance is not healthy. It’s a very short walk from “danger could be anywhere” to full blown paranoia, which is diagnosed as mental illness for very good reasons.
So how do you find the balance? Evaluate your routine.
We all have patterns of activity that we follow on a daily or weekly basis. For most of us, it’s something like:
- Get up
- Go to work
- Work
- Go home
- Eat dinner
- Family time/work out/ watch TV
- Bed
Your routine may look different, but should still be easy to outline. Grab a pad of paper and make some notes about how you conduct your day or your week. Once you’ve done this ask yourself the following question.
Where would you attack you? Why?
If you are being honest, you can probably find at least a few places or times where you are more vulnerable—those are times when you need to be more vigilant.
For example: I walk my dog before bed every night, which means I’m out at odd hours, when few people are around. If I wanted to mug me, that would be a good time.
Once you’ve identified your danger zones, consider the following questions.
- Is there some way to avoid them? If you run in the morning, can you run someplace where there are more people around? This may not always be possible—I have to walk my dog. There’s no getting around it.
- What can you do to minimize the risks? IpoDs are great to listen to, but they make it hard to hear. I carry a flashlight when I walk my dog at night, both as a light and as an extra impact tool.
- If you were attacked in those areas, how would you escape? Where could you run to for help? In your home or office, you may already have a fire escape plan you could use.
When you first do this exercise, it’s natural to feel a bit paranoid. Asking these questions can be a bit uncomfortable. But once you’ve done it you’ll be able to go through your day more relaxed, more confident, and more alert when you need to be.
Stay Safe!
Jake
