How to increase your Safety for FREE?
There is no shortage of products and specialized training that is geared towards your safety from an attacker or in case of an emergency. We offer some of these products and indeed having the right products or “tools” is important during any emergency situation. Likewise, you can also take specific training to prepare for these situations. Jui Jitsu, self-defense classes, firearms training, CPR training etc., are all valuable training that have value in helping to prepare for an emergency or against a violent encounter.
How much time are you willing to devote to these trainings and how many products do you want to buy to adequately prepare yourself against all threats and emergencies. For many of us, we have a desire to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe. However, few people want to spend every free moment training or every dollar to buy the latest self-defense or safety tool available. Even myself being a career law enforcement officer doesn’t want to spend every waking moment training or all my money on products to keep myself and my family safe.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret of how to greatly increase your chances of staying safe in an emergency or self-defense situation that takes little to no time and cost NO MONEY!! Are you ready for it?? VISUALIZATION, that’s right imagining, pretending, make believe. The thing that we all do as children when we are playing. If we have past experiences similar to a current situation then our brain automatically uses those past experiences as a play book for us to follow.
For example, when someone injured in a car wreck is brought into an E.R. the staff jumps into action. The fact that they have dealt with similar situations gives each person a detailed “mental playbook” that they have used many times. Everyone jumps into action without hesitation. However, take that same hospital staff and put them on a ship during a large storm when “all hands are on deck” and you will likely see them looking around in bewilderment with the confidence and purpose they had in the E.R. having completely left them. WHY?? They have no “mental playbook” for the situation so like many people they are likely to “freeze” or do nothing.
WHY DOES THIS MATTER TO YOU? Well, because you can’t experience (or at least shouldn’t want to) numerous violent attacks and emergency situations where your life and the life of others is at stake. What you can do is VISUALIZE them. I weave this into my everyday life. It has almost become a game or a way to past the time. While pumping gas, waiting to get a table at a restaurant, picking up my kids at school etc. Instead of burying my face in my phone and the world of social media, I take a few minutes to run through “what if’s”. “If this were to happen then I would do this.” Doing this doesn’t make me nervous nor does it consume me. It’s something I do so often that I almost do it subconsciously.
Science supports visualization and the important role it can play in performance not only in emergency situations but in many other aspects of your life. “Mental imagery impacts many cognitive processes in the brain: motor control, attention, perception, planning, and memory. So, the brain is getting trained for actual performance during visualization. It’s been found that mental practices can enhance motivation, increase confidence and self-efficacy, improve motor performance, prime your brain for success, and increase states of flow (Adams,2021).”
“Visualization activates the same neural networks that actual task performance does, which can strengthen the connection between brain and body,” explains neuroscientist Stephen Kosslyn, PhD, author of Top Brain, Bottom Brain (Juan DeMelo,2016)
So, not only does it add to your “playbook”, but it trains your body to physically respond in much the same way actual as live training.
Before you get to carried away…. visualization is important but you must build a foundation of skills, fitness, and tools (products) so that you can actually perform the same way you visualize. My recommendation: gain some self-defense knowledge, if you enjoy it then take some classes, maintain a certain level of fitness, and get some tools that will assist you in self-defense or emergency situations. Hint: Its better to have a handful of self-defense and safety tools that you are very proficient with than hundreds that you have never use. If you are interested in purchasing some of the tools you may need, we are available to assist you. Stay Safe and God Bless!!
References:
Adams, A.J. MAPP; Phycology Today 2021
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/flourish/200912/seeing-is-believing-the-power-visualization
DeMelo, Juno; Explore Health
