Personal Safety for Women and Men
Trusting your intuition and taking charge early can
prevent violence much of the time
Personal safety for women, men, and children includes being aware
when something feels uncomfortable or unsafe and taking charge as soon
as possible. From time to time, we are asked about intuition -
what it is and how to use it more effectively to help us stay safe.
The first answer is simplistic, but very true ... in one sense, you
already know about intuition. We don't mean to seem dismissive. It's
just that you've heard so many negative messages to the contrary. So
we say, "You already know,” to emphasize the point and to
acknowledge and support your innate wisdom. Often, all someone needs
is the support to trust and act on what they already feel.
Our hunch is that just about everyone could remember times when
their intuition was warning them if they thought for a few moments.
When we ask participants in courses if they have ever felt
uncomfortable about a situation but dismissed that thought, almost
everyone acknowledges having had such experiences. Sometimes,
unfortunately, putting aside that warning voice can lead to a
troublesome or dangerous situation. Personal safety for women
and for men includes paying attention to that warning voice.
We very firmly believe in the power of our intuition to advise and
warn us in almost any situation. We want to emphasize this so much
that I've taken to saying in courses, "If there is only one point
that you will take from this course, if you forget everything else we
say and practice, take this one thing with you ... PAY ATTENTION TO
YOUR INTUITION. If your intuition is warning you, there IS something
wrong. Trust it and ACT to increase your safety."
We can get messages from our intuition in different ways. It might
be words we are actually saying to ourselves (inside our head or out
loud), a visual image, a dream, butterflies in the stomach, hair
standing on end, a shiver up the spine, feeling hot or cold, an
uncertain or uncomfortable feeling or a combination of these. It's
important to identify and be aware of your warning signs, the ways in
which you tell yourself that something is wrong. How does your
intuition warn you?
And it is important to "err on the side of caution". If
you are uncertain if some discomfort is your intuition speaking or
just the discomfort we can feel when doing something new, take the
safer course. Don't carry on with the present situation
unchanged. Personal safety for women, men, and children includes
not just being aware but also taking charge if something feels
uncomfortable or unsafe. ACT to INCREASE your safety. With
practice, and with paying attention, your intuition will reward you by
speaking more clearly and powerfully. You'll be able to recognize
those warnings quickly.
Of course, your intuition must be combined with common-sense safety
precautions because sometimes our intuition may have gotten rusty from
lack of use or it might be a situation where our intuition is unable
to operate effectively. Some commonsense precautions —
It is never a good idea to simply open your door to a knock without
knowing who is there.
It is unwise (to say the least) to hitchhike.
A woman alone might be at risk if she walked over to a van to help
some guy with directions.
And so on.
Your most effective protection will come when you combine the most
powerful safety principles and skills to complement each other.
Personal safety for women, men, and children is easier to protect
the sooner we notice a problem and take chare of our safety. The
costs of dismissing your intuition can be enormous. If there is only
one point that you will take from this newsletter, take this one thing
with you ... ALWAYS trust your intuition. If it's warning you, there
is something wrong. Trust it and ACT to increase your safety.
You can find resources to explore this subject further – including Real
World Safety for Women (by the author of this article) and Gavin
de Becker’s The Gift of Fear – in our list of recommended
resources.
©
Copyright 2004. All rights reserved.
A publication of KIDPOWER TEENPOWER FULLPOWER International
www.kidpower.org
831-426-4407
Permission to reproduce granted with copyright notice and contact
information
at beginning and end of each article used.
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