True fear is a gift. Unwarranted fear is a curse. Learn how to tell the difference.
A date won’t take “no” for an answer. The new nanny gives a mother an uneasy feeling. A stranger in a deserted parking lot offers unsolicited help. The threat of violence surrounds us every day. But we can protect ourselves, by learning to trust—and act on—our gut instincts.
In this empowering book, Gavin de Becker, the man Oprah Winfrey calls the nation’s leading expert on violent b
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A book that dispells crime prevention myths,
Few crime prevention experts emphasize intuition. Instead, they talk about staying alert to crime. Sometimes crime prevention experts generate more fear than they alleviate.
Gavin deBecker, on the other hand, makes intuition and freedom from fear the focus of his philosophy. Instead of imagining the bad things that could happen, he says, live without worry of crime.
He also says to stop watching the news. It only generates needless worry and gives one a distorted view of the world. I have been teaching these same concepts for years as a black belt in karate, so it was refreshing to read them from someone else. I avoid newspapers and TV news–it only darkens our view of the world. It only makes crime seem worse. Give up news for two weeks and notice how your outlook improves.
As a teacher of women’s self-defense, I’ve heard many stories of intuition. Some people call it the “back ground music,” because it is like the music that plays in a movie before something bad happens.
As deBecker writes, act upon your survival signals (run, search your house in the middle of the night, stay away from an individual, etc.), even if you feel foolish doing so.
Shed the fears in your life, because fear clouds the survival signals. Those who live in fear of crime are already victims.
Some of the book is difficult to read, such as chapters on child abuse. But the book is still worth it. Buy copies for yourself and friends. If you spend time worrying about crime, this book could change your life.
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|The Gift Is Within You,
When a young relative of mine was vacationing, a stranger grabbed her by the arm and said, “Come with me or I’ll kill you.” She reacted instinctively and broke free, and as she ran she expected to be shot at any second. But she made it to safety and provided the cops with a good description.
One year later and 100 miles from where that happened, another little girl was grabbed by a stranger, who said something to her–this was captured on videotape. The frightened child, instead of fleeing, cooperated. She was later murdered by her abductor.
I think most of us fall into that second category, because we don’t listen to the instinct to run, or to fight, or to (best of all) avoid those situations in the first place. We’ve been trained to suppress those very instincts that exist to preserve our lives.
What deBecker’s book so expertly does is re-train us to listen to our intuition, to scope out our environment and everyone in it, and to read the danger signs we would otherwise prefer to ignore.
Panic and anxiety are not useful emotions; fear is different. Fear is what compels us to take action if there is a clear and present danger; it’s what allows us to see what’s happening and respond appropriately. It’s an emotion that should be nurtured instead of conquered. We don’t want our kids to grow up afraid of the boogeyman, scared to go out of their homes or try new things or meet new people. De becker teaches us that, instead, if we develop and learn to trust our intuition, we can free ourselves from that trap, just as we can react positively if we are ever in a position that requires immediate escape.
He shows, with examples and self-reflective exercises, what to ask yourself, and what to do, if you have a “gut feeling” that tells you something is wrong.
Parents, children and women especially need this skill.
It’s great to learn self-defense, to build your confidence in what you can physically do to protect yourself. But that ability is enhanced by the lessons in this book. And sometimes, being a black-belt is irrelevent to dangers that are out there.
DeBecker’s best lessons are learning how to listen to yourself, how to interpret warning signs from dangerous people, and teaching us how to predict behavior. You don’t have to be “surprised” by someone’s crazy or hostile actions if you can see them coming and cut them off at the pass. He points out that every time we get behind the wheel of a car, we’re predicting what every other driver on the road will do. All we have to learn is how to apply that knowledge to a boyfriend who won’t take no for an answer, a neighbor who takes a creepy interest in our kid, or a job applicant who is a little too persistent.
DeBecker says some things that will rub people the wrong way–such as, for battered partners: the first time it happens, you’re a victim and the second time, you’re a volunteer. But that’s actually true. If you KNOW what this person is going to do, and you choose to stay in the relationship in spite of this information, then you have to own the consequences.
The appendices are useful and the reading list is also a good resource, but the IMPACT self-defense classes deBecker recommends are not available everywhere. I wish the book gave a little more information about choosing a self-defense course if IMPACT is not in the area.
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|Better than the book,
I found this 2 tape set, narrated by the author, to be superior in many respects to the longer book. First, given the limited time available, the points made about crime avoidance are reduced to their essential elements. Second, the author is a convincing narrator, who brings passion and the abhorence of violent crime to his subject. In particular, the author’s narration of the crime described in the opening pages of the book, and the victim’s instinctive reliance on the “gift of fear” which saves her life, is riveting. While the book is worthy of a careful read, the taped version is an excellent condensation. Buy it, if not for yourself, for your sons, daughters, cousins, nieces, and nephews.
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