"I Think I'll Go Out And Get Mugged Today!"

Lets say you attend a self-defense seminar. In addition to being shown a few neat hits, kicks and releases, you are provided with a list of proactive things you can do to increase your personal safety.

The material is reinforced with crime statistics, horror stories about the violent misfortune of others and perhaps a horrific assault or two caught on videotape. It gets you thinking.

You leave the seminar "sensitized" to the potential of being victimized. Not paranoid; just more aware, more conscious and more deliberate about your personal safety.

After the seminar, you find yourself locking your doors, scanning your surroundings and being more aware of suspicious people around you. How long do you think your new-found "spidey-senses" will last?

Over time you begin to drop your guard. You begin not to notice many of the things you noticed right after the seminar. Your self-defense training, awareness, and preventive measures start to fade. Why?

Few people leave the security of their home expecting to be robbed, raped or beaten. If they did, you can bet that they'd take measures to prevent it. Like the saying goes, "Life is what happens when you're making other plans!"

Its doesn't make sense to adopt safety strategies SOME OF THE TIME. People don't get hurt expecting to be hurt. We are most susceptible when we least expect to be. When we're are not prepared.

Knowledge is inert unless you use it. If you are educated in the science of self-defense but you don't align your behavior to it on a consistent basis in the ABSENCE OF PRECEIVED DANGER then it is safe to say that you DON'T HAVE a personal safety strategy.

Complacency is a natural function of the brain

The brain is designed to automate repetitive behavior. Complacency is not the result of apathy, carelessness or a flaw in your personality. It is the way we work. 90% of our day-to-day behavior is automated; it happens without conscious or deliberate thought.

When we think about complacency we look at it as an undesirable trait; like is a flaw in our character like ignorance or laziness. The truth is that we are all complacent. We are wired to be that way.

Psychologists estimate that as much as 90% of our day-to-day behavior goes on without conscious or deliberate thought. Repetitive tasks become automated to free up our attention for things that are new, novel or threatening. If it wasn't that way we'd be overwhelmed with the simplest of tasks.

Furthermore, evolution has "wired" our brains for survival. The brain constantly and automatically scans the environment for signs of danger. We notice and respond to what is unique, unusual or threatening. However, repeated exposure to situations, even if they are potentially volatile, dulls our defense mechanism and our awareness.

People exposed repeatedly to high places reduce their fear of heights. People afraid of public speaking get more comfortable in front of an audience after repeated exposure. Likewise, people who are repeatedly exposed to potentially violent situations become less concerned and cautious about them. Psychologists call this "getting-used-to" response, "habituation."

Habituation works against us when we are repeatedly exposed to the potential of predatory situations but nothing happens. We take shortcuts down dark alleys, forget to lock our doors, travel alone and become oblivious to strangers watching or following us.

Overtime the absence of consequences causes us become more lax about our personal safety. And, even though we're concerned about our personal safety and possess the knowledge of what we SHOULD be doing, we can't be bothered.

Personal safety is not something you turn on and turn off. Remember, the time that you are at greatest risk is when you least expect something bad is about to happen. Of course there are situations where a higher level of vigilance and preventive measures are merited but the more consistent we can be about our safety, the more likely we will prevent or avoid becoming a victim.

The key is to form "Safety Habits," things you do over and over again until they override your former unsafe behaviors and become automated. THEN you are starting to form a realistic personal safety habits.

There you have it. Complacency is just a little sliver of the bigger self- defense picture but its an important one. The more opportunities you look for to apply safety-related behavior, even if you don't think they are needed, the sooner you will establish automatic safety behaviors that might someday save your life! The more prepared you will be to detect and avoid a potentially bad situation. Think about it.

Until next time... take care, train smart and stay safe.