Picture yourself celebrating the end of a long workweek or rewarding yourself some quality time with family and friends. Imagine just enjoying a moment of solitude with a cup of coffee, favorite tea, home brew, or even a glass of wine. Whatever is the case, you don't have to be caught off guard. It is entirely possible, and practiced by many, to be present and enjoy your life while also being prepared for potential disruptions to your safety or well-being.
A story like mine shows how a prepared mindset can help save your life. The door being kicked in was the shock of my life and some serious mistakes were made. However, I managed to quickly run through all of my options due to a habit I had developed of consciously playing out scenarios, as well as checking out my surroundings in case of an emergency.
It was just after 6pm, and I was actually enjoying a few sips of wine, when a violent home invasion involving shots fired was about to go down in my family home. I feel certain that without some mental preparedness, I would have wasted precious seconds to react. That priceless time would have led me to falling prey to four gang members on a mission. The title of this post is a bit "tongue in cheek" but it drives home the point. It may be while we are minding our own business, or in our happy place, that things can abruptly change the course of our lives in an instant.
First responders have to be mentally prepared to handle emergencies every day. Because of their professionalism and actions, I arrived at an Atlanta trauma center clinging to life. After several surgeries and weeks in ICU, I had a moment of clarity that may have never happened had the hospital helipad not been located right outside my room. Every time a landing was taking place, it took away what little breath I had. Thoughts flooded into my mind that there was yet another innocent victim or another life-threatening medical emergency. When you listen to and learn from stories like this, there is no denying the volume and presence of danger and trauma in our world.
Like a scene from the popular television series, MASH, there were many nights, especially weekends when the imposing sounds of multiple helicopters were hovering above and swooping onto the helipad. Some nights it seemed for hours there were several helicopters backed up in a holding pattern waiting their turn to land with a critical patient on board. And this was only one trauma center. Often, as the helicopters landed, there was an emergency announcement that could be heard letting on-duty emergency room medical staff know their presence was needed on the helipad. I was one of those patients met on the helipad where the on-duty emergency physician sent me straight to the operating room after being offloaded. This sounds all sensational, but promoting awareness is the purpose for sharing details. Although the details are all grounded in reality, I had to dig deep in prayer for each helicopter landing just to ease the re-traumatization and heart break for who next was in crisis. Then I would wonder, how many people are prepared in the event of lethal violence?
Three thoughts on how we can be intentional about personal safety.
1) Be triggered in a healthy way by headlines, news or others' stories. We can intentionally filter out the sensationalism of lethal violence while asking ourselves what can be learned. What led up to the violence and how did the victim react? We can honor others by finding strength in their stories.
2) Institute a mental routine while securing your home. As you are making your rounds locking all of the doors and windows at the end of the day, let that trigger thoughts on hypothetical scenarios and options and how you might react. Again, not allowing sensationalism and fear overshadow the joy in everyday life. We can give ourselves peace of mind with mental preparedness.
3) Take on the professional mindset of first responders or medical staff. Clinical or tactical thinking can help us overcome, or be more aware of, our blind spots and vulnerabilities while controlling unhealthy levels of fear. Just as with medical professionals and first responders, this prepared mindset clears the way for us to be laser focused on the task at hand.
It is my hope that you can use other's stories to allow yourself to swap out fear of the unknown and the anxiety of unpreparedness for a balanced mind set of personal safety while continuing to live life to the fullest.
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