Chance favors the prepared. We all know what mental focus is, but how is it applied in a fight for your life? What are the four critical elements of staying focused under extreme duress?
- Perception
- Awareness
- Decision
- Commitment
Perception
We are born with survival instincts to rapidly detect and assess an emerging physical threat. At the very onset of a hinky scenario, 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. Regardless, those who pick up something on their radar and choose to ignore it, likely will later regret that decision.
Using perception affords you the maximum amount of time to respond should there be a valid threat. The earlier you perceive that threat, the more time you have available to solve the problem.
Awareness
The 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. To truly recognize telltale signs of a potential threat, you must be mentally engaged with your environment.
Although not as early a warning system as perception, situational awareness is a very close second. It buys you additional time and affords you greater opportunity to solve the problem.
Both perception and situational awareness can be used as threat deterrents. If the bad guy(s) know you’re on to them, then they have lost the element of surprise and recognize that you’re not some unaware soft target.
They know from experience that if you picked them up that early on the timeline, then you’re probably a hard target and it causes them to ask the question, “Are there softer targets?”
Decision
Moving along the mental focus scale, next up are your decision-making skills. Your perception and situational awareness may buy you the time to decide, but a decision must be made to formulate a viable response plan.
Is this an actual threat? Can the threat hurt me or harm those I’m with? What are my options? Is it best to run, hide or fight? Where do I run? Should I go to guns? Do I try to blend in with a crowd of people? Do I duck into a store? Perhaps the best response is to raise your hand, look him in the eye and say in a loud commanding voice, “stop”, “stay back”, “there’s nothing here you want!”
Regardless of your available options, the decision-making process requires mental acuity and takes time. In response to an active threat, you are not ahead of the action-reaction power curve, but rather behind it. The greater your mental focus, the quicker your decision can be made to take control of the fight.
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Use your wits and your valuable time wisely in deciding what to do next, because once you’ve made your decision you cannot unmake it. The old saying “We are all free to decide, but we are not free from the consequence of that decision,” applies.
Commitment
Don’t put one foot in two separate canoes, mentally. When you’re doing one task, do it well, and then go on to the next. Process one task at a time.
It’s much like shooting well. You want to shoot one shot at a time. Follow the shooting process from start to finish. Stay on that one shot and only when you are finished with that shot do you move on to the next shot. Your best shot at success in a fight is the same — one-for-one commitment.
Mental focus is a commitment. Stay mentally focused on the one task. Do it well. Upon completion, leave it mentally. Once you’re done with it, then move on to the next one. Don’t get sucked into the tendency of trying to do two things at once.
You’re not permitted the luxury of cutting corners when it comes to fighting for your life. Apply 100 percent mental focus on the task at hand until it is completed.
Bottom Line
If you perceive something isn’t right, don’t ignore it. Let it process internally and then be willing to do something about it. Focus mentally on what your perception is telling you.
Applying your situational awareness requires mental attachment to your immediate environment. You must engage your mind for it to be effective.
Your decision-making process must be expedited to assess a dynamic situation in a timely manner. It takes mental focus to arrive at an appropriate decision. The greater your mental focus, the greater your absorption of environmental information. This, in turn, allows you to make more informed decisions.
Lastly, but certainly not least, is your commitment to follow through on your decision without hesitation. You do not have time to second-guess. Only 100 percent commitment, one task at a time, makes you mentally tougher than your opponent(s).
Hundredths of a second matter in a fight for your life, and staying mentally focused affords you the opportunity to use them wisely. Applying your mental focus in a fight makes you a harder target. And the fewer soft targets in the world, the better.
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