3 Quick Tips for Your Personal Safety

I saw a quick reflection of light. A man had just stepped onto the sidewalk in front of me. The reflection of light came from something he was holding in his right hand.

It was 1989. Nighttime in Santa Monica. I had recently started working as an investigator conducting case preparation investigations for attorneys.

There was too much traffic on the street to cross back over to get away from the man. And I was only about 15 feet away from him.

A distance that could be closed in a split second. Well within the 21-foot safety zone that law enforcement uses.

But, seeing the flash when I did, gave me just enough time to create a plan of action. Which, my safety depended upon.

The man stepped directly in front of me. Blocking the sidewalk. As he did, I saw that the piece of metal he was holding in his hand was a “shank”. A sharpened metal rod.  One he could easily stab me with. 

And he was trying to conceal it from me. So that he could use the element of surprise to his advantage.

He did something I hadn’t expected. He asked me what time it was. A pretty clever ploy to get me to stop right in front of him.

But, I didn’t stop. Instead, I looked at my watch, told him the time, and kept on walking.

After walking about 20 feet away from him, I turned and looked back. From his body language I could see he was stunned. He apparently had previously before used this same ploy to commit armed robbery.

My safety started with me noticing that reflection of light, trusting my instinct, and by changing the dynamics of this situation to take away his initial advantage.

Personal safety is about creating the opportunity to exit a dangerous situation safely. And it works. And from this one encounter, I learned to the power of three key elements of personal safety. 

And in my upcoming Business Owners and Professionals Personal Safety workshop, you can too.

1. Situational awareness is the most important element of personal safety.

It was the reflection of the light from the metal shank that alerted me to this threat to my safety. And by seeing that reflection of light before reaching the man’s location, it gave me just enough time to figure out a safety plan. 

Situational awareness is your best early warning mechanism. The advanced notice of this

safety threat, allowed me to keep safe.

To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

When it came to using situational awareness, I had some early training as I grew up playing sports where I had to read and anticipate movement by the opposing players and then position myself to avoid being hit while by people much larger than I was as I advanced on the goal. 

But, you don’t need to be an experienced athlete to make situational awareness automatic. Anyone can do it. 

The trick is to actively practice it until it becomes automatic. A process called “patterning”. 

2. Don’t ignore your instinct.

We’re genetically programmed for flight or fight. A heightened awareness that helps us recognize and respond to a safety hazard.

But, sometimes our brains get in the way. It diminishes perceived threats to calm us down by rationalizing them away. To not judge a book by its cover.

And there’s times when doing so makes sense. 

Except when ignoring your instinct puts you into a precarious position.

So trust your “spidey sense”, or your “gut feeling”, when it tells you that something is wrong. It’s a warning to take action for your own safety. A warning you need to heed.

3. Changing the dynamics of an attack.

Changing the dynamics is something I train my clients in. 

It’s about taking away an attacker’s initial advantage that comes from launching a surprise attack. It’s also something, along with situational awareness that I’ll be discussing in my Business Owners and Professionals Personal Safety workshop on Thursday, November 6th.

The attacker tried to conceal his weapon and to get me to stop in front of him casually in order to catch me off guard when he produced the weapon. Essentially a sneak attack. That’s a pretty effective way to do it.

Most attackers have a plan. Even if it’s formulated in just seconds. And that is to use the element surprise to catch you off guard.

But, if you can take an action that eliminates that element of surprise, the attacker has to regroup because the initial action failed to achieve his goal. And when the attacker regroups, that creates the opportunity to exit safely or to take action if need be.

In my case. I told him the time but kept on walking. A response he did not see coming. And in his case, it was too late for him to think up a plan B as I had walked safely past him.

Here’s what I’ll be covering in the live workshop on November 6:

• Understanding how violent attacks actually happen. So that you’ll be better prepared to deal with safety threats.
• The personal safety mindset. So that you have the confidence to protect yourself without relying on others, no matter the type of safety threat you face.
• The 4 key elements of personal safety. What you really need to know to keep yourself safe from an attack, and  how to match the right elements to a given situation. And of those elements, what the #1 most important element is to keep safe while you’re out in the community.
• Debunking the myths surrounding self-defense. It’s not about fighting, but creating the opportunity to exit safely. Why carrying a weapon can backfire on you.
• Parking area safety. Parking lots and garages are the 3rd most common location for violent attacks and homicides, and how all 4 elements of personal safety are needed to keep safe when you are in one.

Learn more and register for the workshop. 

And, if you’re a business owner looking for a step-by-step process to protect your employees and your bottom line from the harm of workplace violence without having to resort to trial and error check out my Protect Your Employees and Your Bottom Line with an Effective Workplace Violence Prevention Program Workshop.