A Sharp Mind

Your most powerful weapon is your mind. It doesn't need batteries and never runs out of bullets. We all know what mental focus is, but how is it employed in a fight for your life? There are the four critical elements of staying mentally focused under extreme duress: perception, awareness, decision, and commitment.

PERCEPTION

We are each born with survival instincts to rapidly detect and assess an emerging physical threat. At the very onset of a scenario that raises the hair on the back of your neck, we get a feeling or a hunch. Some say it is perception. Whatever you want to call it, when you get a blip on the radar no matter how it gets there, it's something that warrants your attention.

Activated subconsciously, perception is the earliest warning system we humans have on board. It is said that females tend to be more fine-tuned in their perception than males. Regardless, those who picked up something on their radar and chose to ignore it later regretted that decision.

Using perception affords you the maximum amount of time to respond should there be an actionable item. The earlier you perceive that threat, the more time you have available to solve the tactical problem.

AWARENESS

Next level down from perception is situational awareness. Most people think just looking at something with your eyeballs is enough to process information from your immediate environment. This is not the case. .....