How in the world....

[cakeshooter]

....am I ever gonna be ready for an emergency. LOL.

Was coming out of Walmart and there was a store worker smoking behind the vending machine up against the wall. I absolutely did not see her until I was right next to her. Had she been a "bad guy" she could have grabbed me before I even saw her and it wouldn't have done me any good to carry a weapon (I'm not carrying mine quite yet anyway).

It kind of shook me...and of course she wasn't a bad guy, LOL...but it startled me that someone could have been a foot away from me without me knowing they were there.

Whoa.

Stuff to think about.

You guys must have to walk around paranoid all day long, everywhere you go?!

[NathanB]

its not paranoid its aware of your surroundings. Once you've been doing it long enough it becomes second nature. you learn to notice things that most dont see. my wife is horrible about not seeing whats going on.

[Mancolt]

Once you've been doing it long enough it becomes second nature.

I'll second this. I think for some people, it requires more work initially but it will become second nature over time. If you've ever worked some type of security job though, it trains you pretty quickly to be observant of other people and their actions.

My friends think I have an uncanny ability to spot bar fights, before there's even been any sort of scene...but I was a bouncer for several years and learned how to spot the indicators.

[normanvin]

Its not being paranoid. It is about being aware of your surroundings.

When in a restaurant, store or the movies you should pay attention to where the exits are.

When you park your car you should park near or under a light.

You see people all of the time that are so involved in what they are doing that they walk out into traffic or trip over their own feet.

[ErSwnn]

For me, part of having a higher than average situational awareness comes from carrying. I really don't want to get into a confrontation knowing I have the means to end it dramatically. So I see a problem and then avoid it. Contrary to popular belief by antis and uninformed, a gun under my coat doesn't cause me to go looking for a fight and in fact quite the opposite. Call me names, give me the finger, whatever. I just hope my lack of reaction isn't taken as a sign of weakness or lack of resolve.

[streaker69]

Its not being paranoid. It is about being aware of your surroundings.

When in a restaurant, store or the movies you should pay attention to where the exits are.

When you park your car you should park near or under a light.

You see people all of the time that are so involved in what they are doing that they walk out into traffic or trip over their own feet.

To build on the parking lot stuff a little bit. When you're shopping with kids there's certain strategies to employ. First, I generally don't shop at night, that solves the problem of parking near a light, but I realize that's not always true. Second, I always try to park right beside the cart return that's in the parking lot. You can then load the kids in the car, and then unload the groceries into the car and not have to walk far to return the cart. If you can, park the side of the car that you normally load the kids in beside the cart return. That'll keep a buffer between you and anyone that might be near you.

If you're walking across the parking lot, take an occasional side glance behind. Keep an eye on anyone that might be watching you. They'll be easy to spot because most people aren't watching anyone else, and are so absorbed into twattering away on their phones that they're not aware of anything around them.

Be aware, but don't look like you're being skittish, as that can sometimes make you look vulnerable. Walk with your head up and with confidence. Criminals are predators, and like all predators, they like to prey on the weak, if you don't look weak, they'll pretty much leave you alone. But with the increase of the "knock out king" games that certain peoples are doing, that isn't even a rule anymore.

Avoid walking through groups if you can. Sometimes groups will intentionally force you to walk between them, if you have to stop and go another way.

[str8shooter]

It's really no more difficult to get in the habit of surveying your surroundings and anticipating threats than what you probably already do in your car every time you drive. If you see a car coming up behind you and suddenly it's gone, chances are it's in your blindspot so you take a quick look to see. When you see break lights on the cars up in the distance you let off the gas and prepare to stop. If you see a child chasing a basketball down a driveway and disappear behind a car, you anticipate him running out the other side of the car and into the street. When driving through a parking lot and see you reverse lights from a car backing out of a spot you wait until you make eye contact before trying to pass behind them.

Watch people when you're walking like you watch other cars when you're driving. Make a game of it. What color is the shirt the person closest to you is wearing. If you loose sight of them, look around to make sure they aren't behind you. Note the number of people in a parking lot and which way they're going. Are they heading to the store, back to their car or searching for their car because they forgot where they parked. Look to see if others paying attention to their surroundings and pick out the victims by what they're doing wrong. Look for good hiding places such as behind vending machines, SUVs, hedges or whatever and stand by them to see how many people walk by without noticing.

Pretty soon it becomes second nature to quickly assess your surroundings and take note who's near you. And to use the driving analogy again, always leave yourself an out.

[cakeshooter]

It's really no more difficult to get in the habit of surveying your surroundings and anticipating threats than what you probably already do in your car every time you drive. If you see a car coming up behind you and suddenly it's gone, chances are it's in your blindspot so you take a quick look to see. When you see break lights on the cars up in the distance you let off the gas and prepare to stop. If you see a child chasing a basketball down a driveway and disappear behind a car, you anticipate him running out the other side of the car and into the street. When driving through a parking lot and see you reverse lights from a car backing out of a spot you wait until you make eye contact before trying to pass behind them.

Watch people when you're walking like you watch other cars when you're driving. Make a game of it. What color is the shirt the person closest to you is wearing. If you loose sight of them, look around to make sure they aren't behind you. Note the number of people in a parking lot and which way they're going. Are they heading to the store, back to their car or searching for their car because they forgot where they parked. Look to see if others paying attention to their surroundings and pick out the victims by what they're doing wrong. Look for good hiding places such as behind vending machines, SUVs, hedges or whatever and stand by them to see how many people walk by without noticing.

Pretty soon it becomes second nature to quickly assess your surroundings and take note who's near you. And to use the driving analogy again, always leave yourself an out.

Hmm. That's really cool. Thanks.

I need this badly because unfortunately I tend to be a bit of a scatterbrain and I easily get caught up in thinking about this and that and become oblivious to things. I'm better about looking around at night but during the day I feel "safe" so I tend to let my mind wander or fiddle around with what's in my purse or whatever else.

Geez, I have lots of homework. haha.

[XD40coyote]

Couldn't you smell the lady smoking? Or was the wind blowing the wrong way?

You can learn alot from wild animals btw. Get into a blind and watch deer. They have their heads on a swivel and walk caughtiously, and the ears are always flipping back and forth. They will feed then look up, then back to feeding, etc. Red foxes don't like to walk too close to dense growth, they walk a few feet out from it in the open. Unless they are hunting the thick stuff. But when just trotting from point a to point b, they don't like being too close. This is akin to people in bad neighborhoods walking down the middle of the street- it's so they are not in the easy ambush zone- ie the sidewalk, where someone could hide behind a car or in an alley and jump out.

Use your senses- all of them. If one is compromised ( your eyes suck or your deaf for instance), hone the others. My hearing has become very acute as my eyes go, so I am always hearing things others don't seem to pick up. However this only works where it is relatively quiet, like out in the woods. I can hear a deer walking 100 yards away where there are some leaves on the ground.

[JayBell]

you simply pay attention to your surroundings more.

I knoiw I've become much more aware of my surroundings at all times since I started riding a motorcycle.

watch everything, scan everything