Tagged: mindset

Caleb Causey: Get Your Trauma Priorities Straight: Mindset, Education, Then Tools

Caleb Causey of Lone Star Medics:

If you have to ask, “What items should I keep in my Medical Kit?” or “Which IFAK is the best?” The answer is “EDUCATION!” Yes, I’m yelling. When you ask me these questions you’re telling me two things. First off, you don’t have a clue what you’re doing. Second, you probably don’t have a clue how to use a med kit even if you had one.

I’m not saying that you couldn’t figure it out eventually, but let’s be really clear about things. Waiting until a family member is lying in the ditch with a car flipped upside-down on the side of the highway is not the time to start trying to figure out how to use your med kit. Waiting until your fellow Officer is bleeding out in an alley is not the time to start trying to “figure it out.” I commend you on your efforts and the mere fact that you at least have med gear. However, your priorities are flawed. Let’s focus on three things and remember them in this order: Mindset, Education and Tools.

Having the correct mindset creates the foundation for accomplishing a task…

Continue reading at ITS Tactical

Kathy Jackson: Guard Your Mindset

By Kathy Jackson of Cornered Cat

If there were one piece of advice I could give to everyone who keeps a gun around for self-defense, it would be this:

Guard your mindset.

Teach yourself how to think about self-defense. Teach yourself how to think about personal protection. Study good sources and learn from smart, experienced people. Ask questions. Be sure you understand the law — what you’re legally allowed to do, what you’re legally required to do, what the law forbids you to do. Think (hard!) about your own moral code, and think especially hard about the tough questions and the grey areas. Are you willing to defend your own life, or the lives of people you love, even at the expense of someone else’s life?

Once you’ve taught yourself how to think, guard your good thinking. Protect it. Don’t let yourself fall into sloppy or angry or fear-driven fantasies. Stick with what you’re willing to do, what you’re able to do, what you will do if it comes to it. Don’t engage in wishful thinking or mindless idealism. Don’t post expletive-filled rants on social media and don’t even let yourself think those rants. Not because they’re “bad” and someone will punish you for bad thought, but because you care about the way your mind works, and you want to stay fully grounded in reality.