Are You A Believer?

Are you a believer?  

What I"m asking is, if you had a honest conversation with yourself right this minute, do you honestly believe that you might have to use deadly force before you go to sleep tonight?  

I don't mean that you live your life in fear.  I am NOT suggesting that at all!  It saddens me to see people living in fear. It actually annoys me sometimes to see people live in fear.  Fear is the opposite of freedom.  Most of what I spend my time doing is helping people to step out of fear and into preparedness.   There is really no reason to live in fear, but there is every reason to live in a relaxed preparedness.


I think most people, especially gun owners, would answer that they do believe it is possible that one day they may need to use deadly force in self-defense.  And yet, few work toward being adequately prepared.  Either they overestimate their ability because they are unaware of all that that will be required of them during a deadly force encounter (before, during and after), or they really haven't grasped the idea that TODAY may be the day.   

When I was at Gunsite Academy for a training class one of the cool things was that we watched  Col. Jeff Cooper presenting the "mindset" piece via video.  Col. Cooper passed away in 2006 so this was a real treat to see him teaching.   One point he drove home was that if and when you find yourself in a deadly force encounter, your first response should not be the response of so many - "I can't believe this is happening".   Rather your response should be, "I thought this might happen one day, and I know exactly what to do". 

The older I get the more I am convinced that mindset is the most important piece of your self defense program.  It is huge.  I mean its really, really HUGE. 

Most new shooters are not there yet.  They may have purchased a gun or taken a CCW class because they know the world is not getting any nicer out there and they think they should do something about that, just in case, but they really have no idea about the realities of self defense... yet.     The good news is, mindset will change over time.  You will grow both in your awareness and in your training as well as in your understanding of the reality of deadly force encounters. 

Me?  I'm a believer.  I am soon going to be 57 years old and I've never needed a gun a day in my life ... but I live like I might need it before the end of the day ... because I might.  Does that mean I'm afraid?  Hardly.  You see, and strange thing happens, the more prepared you are, the less afraid you are.    Being prepared allows me to live my life in freedom from fear.  

And should the day come when I do have to engage a deadly threat, I will have the peace of mind that comes from knowing I have done everything within my power to be prepared.  
Being unprepared is just not acceptable to me.   Too much is riding on my preparedness. 

Massad Ayoob puts it this way, "Its not about the odds.  Its about the stakes."