On Preparation

• Realistic Fears - Fear based in reality of injury or death
• Fear of the Unknown - The fear of not knowing what to expect
• Anxiety - Although not specifically a fear anxiety is an uneasiness without specific focus
• Illogical Fear - Is a fear defined by the author as out of proportion to objective realities
• Fear of Failure - The motive to avoid failure leads to fear and discomfort
• Fun Fear - Actually more an enjoyment from experiencing the adrenalin rush or excitement

What's interesting is that we all experience fear and the physiological reactions to it. Asken refers to methods to control fear and training is often a large component of fear management in all of the categories mentioned. Sadly many officers experience anxiety or physiological reactions prior to attending the very training that offers them the method to reduce or control their fears. I've known officers that get physically ill prior to attending a training or qualification event. Because of this they avoid, instead of embrace, the method (training) that gives them the best chance to win on the street and improve their performance on the range.

Training and confrontation simulation can safely take us and our fears to a new place whereby we increase our comfort zone. Competence and its resulting confidence do much to control and reduce the sympathetic nervous system (fear response). Only by opening ourselves up to the crucible of training do we touch our fears, embrace them and learn to control ourselves in excitable conditions. Only by readying our minds, our bodies and our gear can we truly be prepared.

The Fan of Real Life

As in the old saying of when the feces hits the rotating oscillator, life and its stark, cold and unfeeling reality has a way of humbling us all: Daylight or at night, functioning flashlight or not, skills mastered or forced to wing it. Whether you're ready or not, here it comes. The difference and the only method you have to be an active part of the outcome is indeed being ready being prepared in mind, body and equipment. Showing up at the range with a crappy flashlight hurts your rep; showing up at a gunfight for your life unprepared hurts a lot more.