Here at Situation Handled, we like to categorize our training not only into three areas of focus (Protection, Preparation, and Perception), but also into three levels of severity: Everyday Situations, Someday Situation, and so-called ‘Doomsday’ Situations. People tend to think of problems, and even prepare for problems, in a reverse order, so let’s examine them in that way.
‘Doomsday’ Situations
In movies and television shows, doomsday scenarios always involve zombies or disease or sudden and cataclysmic climate change. While we make no promises about the potential of zombies, what we really mean by a ‘Doomsday’ Situation is one that feels like life will never be the same. Life may not be over, but life as we know it, is and not in a good way. These are the situations we hope we never face in life. They could be the sudden and unexpected loss of a job or loved one, or a difficult divorce. It could be someone attempting to mug us in the street, and yes, even the more extreme situations we read on the news.
Our protection skills are the core of Doomsday Situation training, and where most people tend to start here at Situation Handled. (While our country is, all things considered, a very safe place, bad things do happen.) But physical skills aren’t the only things we need to focus on at this level. Being prepared helps lessen the severity of these problems. As does having the inner fortitude to get through them. Even such things as staying positive, staying in the right mindset, can be a battle in and of itself in a difficult time. Physical protection skills may be the start of dealing with Doomsday Situations, but we need all our training tools in place to make it through.
Want a place to begin?
We suggest starting with a Self-Protection class (you can find our workshops here and our ongoing classes here)
Someday Situations
No matter how hard we train, or how careful we are, something will inevitably go wrong in life. Hopefully we never have to deal with the ‘doomsday’ situations, but we can pretty much guarantee that someday a difficult situation will happen. The car will break down when we least expect it, a grumbling conversation turns into a full-blown argument, or the power goes out and not a flashlight to be found.
Wilderness and preparedness training is the core of our Someday Situation training. Since we know something will go wrong in our lives, we work to pre-solve those problems. It might be something as simple as always making sure the spare tire in the trunk has air and the flashlights have batteries, or something more complex like always stocking the house with a few extra days of supplies.
While we might not have to start a fire with sticks, we know that we have to be responsible for solving our problems and the sooner we start, the less problems we tend to have, and the less severe they tend to be. There are plenty of organizations such as the Red Cross and FEMA designed to help us in difficult situations, but wouldn’t we be happier if that help was a bonus rather than a necessity? Better that then finding out help is too far away when you need it.
And Someday Situations need more than just our preparedness training. Our awareness and mind science training means when the power goes out, the kids are scared, and we can’t go to work, we have the skills to stay calm and think proactively, turning a bad situation into an adventure instead of disaster. Or we have the protection skills to deflect a growing conflict before it turns into something much worse.
Want a place to begin?
We suggest having three days of water and food (that doesn’t require electricity to cook) in the house at all times.
Everyday Situations
Let’s face it, life is good about throwing challenges our way. Every single day there is something that gets in the way of our day being ‘perfect’. Usually it’s a small thing. Someone grumbled at us at work and soured our morning. Or traffic was a challenge and we were late getting where we needed to be.
While these situations aren’t life altering, our philosophy is that not paying attention to these everyday challenges can easily lead to bigger problems. We get annoyed and in a rush, we say something thoughtless, and we’ve just turned a minor Everyday Situation into a more serious argument. It has become a Someday Situation. Or we miss the subtle danger cues that tells us we might be walking into a big problem, a Doomsday Situation.
Our awareness and mind-science training is, in essence, our Everyday Training. Every single day there are opportunities to make life better or worse for ourselves and others based on how we pay attention and relate to ourselves and the world around us.
Want a place to begin?
We suggest practicing awareness for five minutes at a time as a start. Can you be mindful of what is around you without letting your mind wander?
Handling Every Situation
Our three pillars of training are, in fact, woven together. While our protection skills are mostly about ‘doomsday’ training, there are things we learn in that training that we put into practice every day, just to make it a little less likely extreme situations come our way. And while our awareness and mind science training is essentially about everyday situations, that training is also vital for having the right spirit and mind set to get through the devastating doomsday situations.
Life can throw any one of these categories at us without warning, no matter how much training we put in. Yet the more we train to plan, protect, and persevere, the less likely the situation will turn into something worse. The more likely we will indeed get through the situation, and find ourselves, in the end, with a Situation Handled.