7 Tips for Urban Survival Today

You need to sharpen your situational awareness.

Do you know the definition of situational awareness?

If you watch suspense movies involving special operatives you probably know.

If not, here’s a definition.

The perception of environmental elements and events with respect to time or space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their future status.

In other words, it means be aware of where you are, who’s there with you, what’s going on around you, and what might happen in the very near future based on these observable facts.

For instance, if you’re walking down a dark sidewalk, and there’s a strange man following you who slows down when you slow down and speeds up when you speed up, what does your gut tell you might happen in the very near future? You might be attacked.

That’s situational awareness—knowing you’re being followed and deciding that might not be a safe thing, and thinking about what might happen. 

Right there, you’ve exhibited the 3 levels of situational awareness: perception, comprehension, projection.

Most women instinctively practice situational awareness if they’re walking down a dark street or traveling alone. 

What too many don’t do is carry that situational awareness into their everyday life.

In this time when masks are more or less mandatory, your situational awareness should be at DefCon 2—high alert. You can’t see peoples’ faces which we depend on to read someone’s mood and/or intention. 

I subscribe to many newsletters. One of them is The Well-Armed Woman which is all about women defending themselves.

A recent newsletter addressed the issue of masks and situational awareness. Some of the points it made were so important, I wanted to pass them on. Please read the full newsletter regardless of your personal belief about women carrying guns because it has great information about why masks affect your situational awareness and what you can do about it.

Stay Safe

1. Hone your situational awareness and be alert to what’s happening around you. The world seems like a powder keg ready to explode at the least provocation so don’t be caught unaware.

Joan Reeves aka SlingWords: The Word Slinging Adventures of Joan Reeves