Making a Habit of Personal Safety
You may have noticed after our Self Defense class together that your awareness was heightened; you were more aware of your surroundings, alert to potential dangers, and sensitive to issues related to safety.
Please take a moment and notice: are you still that aware? Or are you taking those old shortcuts again, leaving doors and windows unlocked and telling yourself, "Nothing will happen this time"? Don't feel bad. Complacency is a default state. But that doesn't mean its helpful or desirable.
Here's a few ideas to help you regain - and maintain - an appropriate level of safety-mindedness:
1 - Perform a risk audit on yourself. When would a perpetrator be most likely to engage you? When and where are you most vulnerable? Do this for home, work, commuting and traveling, and playtime.
2 - Review your Safety Tips notes (contact me and I'll send you a set) for reminders of tactics and strategies, as well as for new ideas that you can implement or adopt.
3 - Implement three (adding more later) tactics and strategies that will improve your level of safety and/or awareness TODAY. Make these all into habits (perform or review each one every day for three weeks) and you will start to notice your awareness level increase dramatically.
And if you want to have some fun with it:
1- Run safety drills with kids (or roommates); Fire drills, crazy Ivan (quick escapes from a mall parking lot for practice)
2- Change your route to and from work (or other regular destination); change up other patterns just for practice.
3- "Who's following me?" is about being alert to who's behind you and for how long. Be the spy and have fun with this one. Play it regularly and you will get quite good at it.
And remember - this is all about feeling more safe and comfortable. When you're aware and prepared, there's nothing to be paranoid about.