Looking around you
Situational awareness is all about paying attention and details. Think about when you were little and your mother, father or grandparents took you to an intersection - we were all told to do the same thing: look left, look right and look left again. Incorporating this same idea into your everyday life can keep you out of trouble. We can get into patterns of going the same way or the same place (which will be a subject of another note down the road), and we can quickly become complacent. Complacency can get you into trouble in a heartbeat. Texting while you're walking is an example of this. This hyper-focusing on an item makes you oblivious to what is happening around you and takes away that natural intuition we all have that helps keep us away from danger.
I play a little game with myself to help keep my situational awareness up. It's something I learned in the Marine Corps and it can really help anywhere. It's all about noticing details and remembering them. Everyone and everything you see has something special about it, you just need to pick up on it and store it away. Maybe a man you pass has along chain attached to his wallet - or a female is wearing an 80's band t-shirt. Doing this with fixed prominent terrain features like buildings can help you to not get lost as well by giving you a way to remember how you traveled in case you need to backtrack.
Remember, diligence, paying attention to details and situational awareness isn't paranoia - it's smart thinking.
We go over situational awareness frequently in our classes in both the Lancaster and Harrisburg studios. For more information go to www.bdkenpo.com
