National Situational Awareness Day is used to spread awareness on the importance of personal safety and encourage people to learn basic survival skills. We are all responsible for our own personal safety so it is important to understand how we can keep ourselves safe. Situational awareness has helped people stay alive in dangerous situations. Situational awareness teaches people how to avoid potentially dangerous situations. Situational awareness can help keep you from danger and help you act faster in potentially dangerous situations.
Some ways to practice situational awareness include:
- Be mindful
- Identify exits
- Watch people without staring
- Notice non-verbal cues
- Trust your gut instincts
- Be strategic
- Limit distractions
- Observe your surroundings
- Know what situations can become dangerous
What can disrupt situational awareness?
Situational awareness is a mindset. A mindset of making sure you are safe where you are and you know what to do if a threat were to occur. Some things that can disrupt your situational awareness include:
- Fatigue
- Stress
- Biases/attitude
- Distractions
You should always be on alert. Even you if are out and don’t feel a threat or notice anything suspicious, don’t let your guard down. Anything can happen anywhere and anytime.
When is situational awareness important?
Situational awareness is always important, and you should always be observing your surroundings. Some situations that situational awareness is important include:
- Walking alone at night
- Walking alone through dark alleys
- Being alone in low-traffic areas
- Grocery shopping alone at night
- Getting gas alone at night
- Driving through unsafe areas at night