Rising to the Occasion

I’ve often heard people say that they expect to “rise to the occasion” if their survival, or the lives of their loved ones, is at stake. 

Their theory is that a person can harness and channel extraordinary strength, agility and ability in a crisis situation.   In that terrible moment, somehow, they would know what to do.  And execute.

The sad truth is that people don’t rise to the occasion.  They default to their lowest level of training.  This is especially true during violent confrontations and life-and-death struggles—all of which involve chaos, confusion, panic and pain. 

Our physiological response to such stimulus overload is usually to shut down.  We develop tunnel vision.  Our ears hear, but the meaning of words and sounds doesn’t register in our brains.  Heart rate and blood pressure sky rocket, breathing becomes shallow and hyper, and our adrenaline dumps.  Our muscles constrict and tighten.  Performing gross motor functions becomes challenging at best, and fine motor skills are almost impossible.  Basically, we devolve into “soup sandwich”.

At the moment of crisis, we are physically incapable of rising to the occasion. 

This is why we practiced fire drills as elementary school students.  The alarm went off, we lined up, moved single file down the hall—walking, not running—and exited the building quietly to be counted by a teacher once we were outside. 

By repeating those behaviors and routines under stress, with the noise of the alarm bells and other confusion, we ingrained those actions into muscle memory and responded.  We wouldn’t need to think and tax our already spinning brains in case of an actual fire.  We just needed to remember the drill and respond.

So……..with that in mind…….

Have you given any thought to what you would do if a client touched you inappropriately, threatened you or physically attacked you?  How would you react if you walked in on a squatter in a back bedroom of a home you were showing?

What specific steps might you take?  Do you think you would scream?  Are you capable of inflicting violence and pain on another person?  Have you really considered these scenarios and your likely responses?  Have you practiced them?

Do you honestly believe you would rise to the occasion?

These are deep thoughts to consider…..

Until next time,

Stay Safe!