Situational Awareness Reset (Do This Everywhere)

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We move through dozens of different environments every single day. Home → car → gas station → work → school → store → restaurant → home again. Each time we step into a new place or mix with new people, our risk profile quietly shifts.

Most folks never notice. I do. You should notice too. All it takes is thirty seconds to update my head—my mindset and situational awareness—and I’m set to go.

That habit keeps me calm and keeps me prepared. I always have a plan to get through the few seconds to a couple of minutes.

The great part? Because as someone who is into readiness, you’re already wiring yourself this way. You can do the same thing anywhere, anytime, in the space of one deep breath. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming or constantly at the front of mind. It just needs to be done periodically throughout your day.

To show you how simple it is, I’ll use an easy-to-visualize walk-through of going to the airport and catching a flight. I’ll show you exactly what I do from the moment I hit the airport until the wheels go up. The good thing is that the same process works whether you’re walking into Costco, a movie theater, or your kid’s school play.

Because preparedness is about deciding—in advance—what you’ll do if the music stops.

TL;DR: Situational awareness resets help manage your risk profile by establishing a new situational baseline as you transition between environments and changing risk zones.

Arrival at the Airport

I step through the sliding doors, and I pause for a couple of seconds.

I get my bearings and register the overall feel. Calm and flowing, or packed and stressed?

Any tension in the air?

As I approach security and before opting out of having my photo taken, I register how the TSA folks are acting—relaxed and playing grab-butt with one another, or seem on edge?

Through all of this, I’m looking for a variance from the normal flow and feel of an airport’s situational baseline.

One thought I regularly update as I move through the airport cattle herding process is: “If something kicks off right now, which way am I moving?”

At the Gate

I always try to get to the airport early to avoid delays. That also gives time to scan the passengers and see if there are any obvious problem people getting on the flight.

Who looks steady? Whose argumentative? Who looks drunk?

I keep an eye out for any early boarders in plain clothes who don’t have disabilities, who can help clue me in on whether the flight has Air Marshals or other armed travelers.

I lock any standouts in my mind for recall later on the plane.

That’s it. Takes just a few seconds to scan the room and to pay attention to what’s going on every once in a while.

During Boarding

I try to board as early as possible so I can watch everyone else come down the jetway. At a minimum, I’m at the front of my boarding group.

I sort people into three buckets as they pass:

• Helpers – calm, aware, physically capable
• Problems – drunk, angry, erratic
• Obstructions – 90 % of passengers who will freeze or block the aisle when panic hits

I note where the helpers and problems sit relative to me. Then I count rows to the nearest exits—front and back—while the line is still moving.

One more look at the plane’s safety card to confirm the layout, and I’m set. At this point, I continue checking out the other passengers as they board and take some time to settle into my seat.

During the Safety Brief

This is the money moment. While everyone else zones out due to their normalcy bias. I use the quick two-to-six-minute safety brief as an opportunity to do a quick mindet and situational awareness reset.

As the flight attendants talk, I run a fast mental situational awareness update:

• Crash landing → plane on its side → people dead  → people panicking → which exit is clearest → how am I going to get to the exit → what’s it going to be like climbing over baggage?
• Cabin depressurizes → oxygen masks drop → lights out → people screaming → what do I do?
• Water landing → the plane is taking on water → it’s dark → people are panicking → how do I get out?
• Active threat on board → who are the most likely problems → where are helpers?
• The plane on fire → can’t see → can’t breathe → get down low → get stomped on → what next?

I feel around for my life vest so my mind knows where it’s at.

I visualize smoke, heat, noise, and craziness.

Two to six minutes. That’s all I need to rehearse a dozen bad outcomes and already know my first moves for each, along with alternatives.

How This Works Everywhere Else

You don’t need plane travel to do the same thing that I do.

Walk into the supermarket?

Quick scan: What’s the mood and vibe in the store? Are there any weirdos or people that ping your spidey sense?

Three aisles in ask yourself: “If something happens right now, what am I doing. Where am I going?” It takes half a second. Then I go back to picking out bananas and cacao.

Movie theater?

Get a feel for the energy in the theatre and identify what sticks out or gives you pause. Maybe it sticks out for being really overt, or for being overly withdrawn and covert. Do a quick scan of the audience? Once you’re seated, which exit is your primary? What’s your alternate?

Office, restaurant, church, kids’ soccer game—same drill.

New environment = new risk profile = do regular updates to mindset and situational awareness throughout the day.

That tiny habit that takes a few seconds here and there. A few minutes at the start of a flight. This habit isn’t paranoid—because it’s quick, easy, and it works in the moment.

The Bottom Line

You can find the time (in seconds) in every environment you’re in to sharpen your mindset and tune your awareness.

The airline safety brief is just one of them. Use it—or any transition moment—to ask: “If something changes right now, what’s my first move?”

Do that enough times, and your brain stops getting surprised. You naturally, without thinking about it (unconscious competence), update yourself and your situation as you go through life.

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