As some of y’all have noticed, I’ve been on a break—not one I wanted, but one I needed to recover from a bad arthritis flare-up. It’s been a month, and the battle’s still ongoing. I’m doing much better now, but it’s been rough. I had to withdraw from a class I was excited about, missed out on local matches, and haven’t even touched a firearm. Heck, I haven’t even dry-fired. Hopefully, I’ll be back to my regular activities soon. But all this downtime gave me a chance to sit down and work through some personal tactics, and I landed on a train of thought I think y’all might find useful.

Let me back up a bit. The limited mobility, reduced grip strength, and pain from the flare-up made it clear I don’t currently have the capacity to draw my concealed carry gun with the speed and intensity I could under normal conditions. Other skills and abilities are also degraded, which means my self-defense capabilities are diminished. That led to a sobering realization: my survivability has taken a hit. My next thought was that I should reduce personal risk by being more situationally aware. But almost immediately, I realized that was a flawed mindset—not because increasing situational awareness to reduce risk is a bad idea, but because thinking it’s only necessary when my abilities are compromised is nonsense.

It’s Not About the Odds—It’s About the Stakes

Better survivability from skill and ability can lower the odds of failing in a deadly encounter, but that’s just a contingency plan. The odds of failure, no matter your skill level, are never zero. And the stakes—your life, well-being, and freedom—are always the same.

Situational awareness is about mitigation. A fight avoided is a fight won. Mitigation in self-defense has its own set of odds, but it shares those same high stakes.

Thinking I needed to boost my mitigation efforts just because my contingency odds were down was misguided. We should always strive to maximize mitigation odds, just as we should always work to maximize contingency odds. The combination of the two is what lowers the likelihood of those stakes being at risk.

Condition Yellow

If you’re not familiar with Jeff Cooper’s color system, fix that—pronto.

Condition Yellow isn’t about paranoia. I’m reminded of Tom Givens’ quip about what happens to paranoid people: nothing. Nothing happens to them. Jokes aside, Condition Yellow is about staying relaxed while staying alert.

Paying attention to what? For starters, your surroundings. Note potential exits, where cover and concealment are, and what’s around you. This isn’t about being twitchy, ready to throw down or bolt at a moment’s notice. It’s about having the information you need to operate in that environment and use it effectively if an emergency arises—whether that’s a fight, a fire, or something else. It also means spotting trouble as early as possible.

You should also pay attention to the people around you. Where are they? Do they belong, or do they seem out of place? Are they acting in a way that fits the environment and their role in it?

In short, you’re an active participant in your environment. You’re watching and listening while staying relaxed—easier said than done, but it’s the state we should all aim for unless a task demands otherwise.

Improving Situational Awareness

Situational awareness isn’t a new concept, and it’s not rare in self-defense discussions, but it’s often talked about vaguely. “Pay attention while staying relaxed” is pretty abstract. Watching and listening to your surroundings and people is only slightly less so.

I suspect there are two reasons it’s rarely discussed concretely. First, most folks don’t fully grasp situational awareness beyond it being something important for spotting trouble early and avoiding danger. Second, it’s a complex topic that’s highly situational. There are universal principles, but how they’re applied varies—sometimes dramatically.

Take “pay attention to your surroundings.” I mentioned noting exits, cover, and concealment—great for navigating everyday urban or suburban settings like grocery stores, restaurants, or gas stations. But shift the context to commuting through unfamiliar city zones or rural areas, and paying attention might mean assessing local safety, as Greg Ellifritz discusses in Choose Adventure: Safe Travel in Dangerous Places. He points out things like the presence of armed guards, whether properties look run-down, or if locals are walking alone or in groups.

That’s just one example. Improving situational awareness requires homework. That might mean reading books to learn what to look for and how to interpret it. A good starting point is a book on pre-assault indicators. I’ll plug Greg Ellifritz’s Choose Adventure again, as it covers this and other aspects of personal safety in a practical way. It’s fresh in my mind since I just finished it.

Homework also means staying tuned into current events and resources to prioritize what to watch for in your environment.

That said, here are a few things you can do right now to boost your situational awareness:

• Accept reality. The world is a tough place, and you alone are responsible for your safety.
• Trust your senses. Don’t brush off a gut feeling or sign of danger as “just being paranoid.” That could be a deadly mistake.
• Stay present. Avoid daydreaming. Today might be the day you need to act, and missing early warning signs because your mind was elsewhere could cost you.
• Act promptly. If you spot a potential problem, take reasonable action immediately—leave if you can, or start preparing mentally and tactically if you can’t. Don’t delay.
• Avoid distractions. Keep your phone out of your face, ditch the headphones, and be wary of people trying to draw your attention.

Advantageous Positioning

If you’ve studied tactics, you’re familiar with advantageous positioning. Simply put, it’s choosing a position that maximizes your ability to observe and respond while minimizing a threat’s ability to surprise or overwhelm you. In practice, this might mean picking a seat in a restaurant with your back to the wall, where you can see people coming and going and have clear access to exits.

To the uninitiated, this might seem over the top, but it’s not just about tactics—it’s about deterrence. Positioning yourself this way makes you a harder target, which deters opportunistic criminals looking for an easy mark. They’ll likely move on to someone else.

That said, an advantageous position doesn’t mean you can zone out. You still need to maintain situational awareness, but the right position makes it easier to stay aware with less effort.

Premade Decisions

Premade decisions are critical but often overlooked because they’re not flashy skills you can post on social media like a sub-2-second Bill Drill. They’re also more complex than most realize, though the concept isn’t unique to self-defense. Think estate planning, budgeting, or arranging backup plans for picking up the kids.

Self-defense premade decisions come in different flavors. Some require deep thought and research but don’t need frequent revisiting. Others need less initial effort but require regular tweaks.

For example, deciding whether to intervene to defend a third party is a high-effort, infrequent decision. It might depend on the relationship—your neighbor versus a stranger. This requires soul-searching and weighing the stakes: life, freedom, and well-being (financial, psychological, or physical), especially if you have dependents.

Combining premade decisions with situational awareness creates “look before you leap” moments. Say you pull up to your regular coffee shop and notice it’s being robbed at gunpoint. If you spot it from your car, you have options and time you wouldn’t have if you’d walked in unaware. A premade decision lets you act without hesitating under stress.

Another example: deciding to leave at the first sign of a potential threat. You turn around, walk to your car, and drive away. But what if you’re picking up a loved one and the threat is between you and them? A premade decision, revisited and adjusted, could include plans for potential versus imminent threats—like an active shooter at a school pickup.

“What if” scenarios are another form of premade decisions—short-lived, specific, and informed by broader decisions. What if you’re being followed? Change direction and head toward safety. What’s safety, and where is it? What if someone tries to block your path? Practicing “what ifs” hones quick thinking. It can even be a game, like when you were a kid: “What if I found a hundred bucks?” Serious scenarios matter, but being comfortable thinking on your feet can prevent a panic response in an unfamiliar situation.

Don’t Do Stupid Stuff

Don’t go to stupid places.
Don’t associate with stupid people.
Don’t do stupid things.

John Farnam, Rules of Stupid

This should go without saying, but avoiding stupid stuff is king when it comes to avoidance. A close second? Don’t be a jerk. These two principles alone can keep you out of harm’s way without relying heavily on situational awareness, positioning, or premade decisions. They’re not foolproof, but they’re a solid start—especially when paired with the other tactics we’ve covered.

The challenge is discerning what’s stupid. That comes from life experience, which you gain by staying alive. And the best way to do that is to maximize your odds of avoiding deadly encounters and surviving them if they happen.

Keep Your Guard Up

Earlier this year, I noted we’re in a buyer’s market for guns and training. Sales are down, likely due to a mix of economic strain and less fear of gun bans or civil unrest under the current administration. That second point worries me—it suggests growing complacency. I urge you to stay prudent. Ensure you have the tools you need, keep your skills sharp, and hone your tactics, like the ones in this post.

The bottom line? Live life. Enjoy it. But don’t get complacent. The world is a dangerous place, and you alone are responsible for your safety. Keep your guard up.