What is Situational Awareness

Anyone who has seen the Bourne Identity could be curious about the notion of situational awareness. There’s a scene toward the start of that film where Jason Bourne is trying to figure out his identity. He’s alarmed at the way his own mind has been trained to automatically calculate and explains that within minutes of walking into a diner, he had assessed the load and strength of other patrons, memorized the car number plates of the cars parked outside, identified the exits and even noticed that the bartender is left-handed.

This type of training really does exist among intelligence officers and military personnel. It’s called ‘situational awareness’ and it essentially involves having the ability to quickly and simply identify key facts about your surroundings.

Situational awareness is vital for everybody though and a positive trait for those curious about cultivating a warrior mindset. Situational awareness allows us to spot potential threats faster in order to avoid and/or quickly decide how to neutralize them. It allows us to maneuver quickly and efficiently when things evolve and ultimately it lets us keep ourselves and those around us, safer.

The general problem is, most folks have their mind on other things: things like their office, Angry Birds, debt, relationships and sometimes even the girl at the office with the short skirt.

So now you’re probably asking, how can we get our mind back into the game and begin listening to the things in our mind that are actually important and to those we care about?

• The OODA LOOP

In the excellent Art of Manliness article, writer Brett McKay describes a way employed by Air Force fighter pilot/military strategist John Boyd. OODA, a four-step process that tells us to:

• Observe

• Orient

• Decide

• Act

First, you need to observe. This means you can’t just completely relax and kick your feet up. In neuroscience terms, it means, don’t let your ‘default mode network’ kick in (essentially, you want to keep your mind on what’s happening now). You should be relaxed and calm. But also alert.

Position yourself in any room against an edge so that you can comfortably see the utmost number of individuals, exits, entrances all while avoiding easily avoiding a scenario where someone can get the hop on you.

The next step is to orient, which in this particular context means trying to notice specific things. Establish a ‘baseline’ by getting an idea about the traditional behavior and conditions for the particular area. Next, pay attention to deviations from this norm. Does someone look uncomfortable? Is someone inappropriately dressed? Is there a noise that shouldn’t be there?

In doing so you will have to swiftly decide whether or not act in the manner in which you must act. Have an idea of what the appropriate action should be and don't hesitate. Trust your instinct at this stage and if unsure, practice caution.

This is to say that if someone is acting suspiciously or potentially violent, start by trying to move further away from them or alerting security. Find yourself in a neighborhood has an unusual vibe? Then get your family out of there.

Practicing the preceding pointers could at some point save your life. At the very least, they're going to assist you to adopt a warrior mentality that will be felt by those around you.