What’s In a Name? (5 to Survive) Your Survival, That’s What

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For years, I’ve written articles and done countless seminars on how not to become victims of crime. Throughout those years, I’ve also listened to many others talking on the same topic and one thing that always bothered me was the two words that they almost always said but hardly ever explained. I also believe that many people who listen to trainers say those words tune out that expert and his his expertise as having little solid value. So what are the two words I’m talking about?  “Be Aware”.

Well, no foolin, being aware has to be a good idea when trying not to become a victim of crime but what do they mean by being aware? Rarely is it explained well and I say that if you don’t explain that core truth well, you ought not to be teaching people on how not be a victim.

Being aware IS the cornerstone of not becoming a victim of crime but let’s get to the important part of awareness which is—specifics.

Being aware means taking the time, usually no longer than five seconds to look all around us. That means to look to our left, right, behind us and in front of us, looking for anything . . . DIFFERENT. Different means different from the norm in our field of vision. Almost simultaneously, you should also be looking for anything in your vision that might be able to cause you harm. Here are some examples about being different: A man standing still or walking very slowly in a parking lot while everyone else is walking briskly. Or someone wearing heavy clothing as opposed to the light clothing everyone else is wearing.  Or a car parked in the opposite direction of all the other cars in a lot. And of course, out-and- out danger that you might see in your field of vision.

So BEING AWARE means to take about five seconds to look all around us looking for anything different and anything that may cause us harm. This is awareness—very simple stuff. It’s wise to use this kind of awareness before we get out of, or when we go to our vehicles, public transportation or buildings.

But here’s the biggest thing with awareness. It’s not the scanning for five seconds, heck, that’s a breeze but the problem is remembering to do it! Life gets in the way. The kids need to get picked up, what groceries did I forget to write on my list or perhaps, thinking about problems at school, work or at home can all cloud our awareness. The list of distractions are too many to mention. Yet, if we take the time to scan for five quick seconds we are about 50 % less likely to become victims of violent crime. 50% more likely to see our kids again. 50% more likely to see our other loved ones again and 50% chance to live to another day.

So how do we remind ourselves to scan for five seconds? One way is to try and remember the simple phrase, “5 to Survive” which means that’s all it takes to survive is to scan and be aware for five seconds. Everyone knows the silly rule that if our kids, or for that matter, if we, drop food on the floor and it’s on the floor less than five-seconds, it’s safe and okay to eat! Probably a stupid rule but most people remember it and that’s really what we need to do with awareness; remember to do it.

I’m a busy guy, constantly multi tasking and my favorite way to remember to be aware is wearing a reminder wristband that says, ‘5 to Survive’. Or I hang that same wristband on my rear view mirror where I cannot but help see the simple reminder message every time I get out of my vehicle.

Don’t forget to be aware. You deserve to not become a victim of violent crime and your loved ones deserve your effort.

Steve Kovacs
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Steve Kovacs

About Steve Kovacs

Steve's the bestselling author of 'Protect Your Kids! The Simple Keys to Children's Safety and Survival'. He's written many articles on a wide variety of topics and has three published books. Steve's a three-time survivor of violence in his youth, a former police supervisor and a graduate of The Police Executive Leadership College (PELC) and was also an award winning part-time college Criminal Justice instructor. For several years, Steve did written and radio political and current event commentary and was the former host of the long running 'The Kovacs Perspective' Internet radio and TV talk show. Steve presently owns a small businesses in Ohio--The Mayfield Academy of Self-Defense.

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