In the 2000 film, Pay it Forward, a young boy is presented with a challenge to improve mankind with an innocuous school project. The boy problem solves this dilemma by figuring out that if he can do three good deeds for someone and then in return inspire them to “pass it on” to three more people, then eventually positive change will occur and spread indiscriminately. Of course everybody - in the film - dismisses this as a childish idea at first, but over time a profound change begins to spread its tentacles throughout society; all brought about by this auspicious gesture of positive cause and effect that was brainstormed by an innocent child with no preconceptions about success and/or failure.
This got me thinking. What three things could I “pass on” that would increase the general public’s awareness, responsibility and organisation germane to their personal safety?
The three commonalities in all good personal safety doctrine are:
· EVERYONE is responsible for their own security!
· Awareness, Avoidance, Planning and Prevention are the keys to unlocking your safety and survival skill-sets!
· A personal safety plan should always be proportionate to the existing threat!
It still amazes me when people ask me questions related to their personal protection and then give me strange looks when I ask them what steps have they implemented in their daily routine to deter the threat of criminal intrusion. For instance, most people I talk to do not lock their car doors when they are driving; they do not understand basic first aid procedures; they listen to an I-POD while jogging; travel safety is often neglected; basic home security measures are virtually obsolete; basic safety awareness levels are increasingly low; dealing with violence is often misunderstood; internet security procedures are often neglected and possessing a general security mind-set is often translated into having a precarious paranoid state-of-mind, until of course, the inevitable happens and the first words to come from their mouth goes something like, “I never, ever thought it would happen to me!”
I do realise that it is difficult if you have little to no experience with personal protection issues to know where to start, so I have come up with an idea of modelling the school project from the Pay it Forward film. Essentially I am suggesting that you pick three personal safety tips from this blog and simply “pass it on” to someone who you feel is not as security conscious as they should be. Then follow that up by suggesting that they in turn “pass it on” on to three more people who they feel could benefit from this information and then those people “pass it on” to three more people and on and on it goes. The outcome in theory should awaken the collective unconsciousness throughout your immediate demographic and help to get this whole “Pass it On” movement going.
Ø Please remember that I am not talking about combative hard skills here; you should only learn combative hard skills from a certified professional instructor who knows what he/she is doing! The Combative Hard Skills (C.H.S.) is what we would cover in our Personal Intense Training Program (P.I.T.):
http://www.functionalfighting.com/personal-intense/index.html
What I am suggesting to share openly are the soft skills of personal safety that are often overlooked in your everyday personal routine such as: awareness and avoidance; developing a security mind-set; assessing your threat and evaluating the risks; spotting suspicious behaviour; understanding your rights; fear and anger management; emergency preparedness at home and on the road, and developing a sound personal safety strategy to empower your survival and awareness skills.
The Foundations for Personal Safety
1. Are You at Risk?
Always analyse your personal safety from the vantage point of the potential attacker and/or the would be criminal- think like the enemy!
Answer these questions honestly:
· Are you an easy or hard target?
· When and how are you most at risk?
· How can you avoid being selected as a target?
· How can you best prepare yourself to respond to an attack?
2. Are You Prepared?
· Stay physically fit
· Know emergency locations (police, fire and medical) and emergency phone numbers
· Carry a basic urban survival kit
· Maintain a low profile
· Obtain the hard skills for responding to sudden violence
3. Are You Aware?
· Always note emergency exits and escape routes
· Observe the environment and people around you
· Beware of getting lured into a staged event
Please remember to keep these principles in the proper context and proportionate to YOUR threat- are you in downtown Baghdad or in downtown London? The scope of this article is to be able to improve our society by making more people cognisant of their own personal safety by raising their awareness, accepting responsibility for their own personal safety and organising an action-on protocol to implement into their daily routine.
Relax, take a deep breath and accept the “Personal Safety Pass it On” challenge 2009!
Happy New Year!
Hub
