One of the most important aspects to be taken into consideration when any kind of planning and coordinating has to be done is to have the awareness regarding the particular situation. The term situational awareness can be used to define a knowledge aspect of knowing what is happening directly or indirectly around us. Situational awareness carries a significant importance in our daily lives which is why it is important to learn situational awareness.
Without having the element of realizing the situation that occurs around us, it would cause many problems. Find out more on the importance of situational awareness as well as how you can learn it through some of the best books on situational awareness.
Situational Awareness in Examples
One of the best examples of situational awareness that we see in our daily lives is the armed forces of any country. They are taught to carefully evaluate the condition around them on the basis of different factors such as weather, enemy reach, enemy distance, transport, and other different types of factors. They are taken under various simulated environments so that they are taught situational awareness and are able to perform in their best manner regardless of how tough the conditions are.
Another very common example in the everyday consumer markets is the concept of people-service based jobs for example customer care, or restaurant waiters. The customer care staff often face new or unique types of complaints and address them accordingly. They have to deal with the different types of customers such as angry, frustrated, or even cool and calm ones. Therefore, they have to change their tone and behavior in accordance with the situation to provide the best customer service.
The restaurant workers have to also deal with a range of different types of customers some of which might be purposely annoying or irritating while the others may be in a hurry to get their food. Nonetheless, the restaurant staff has to listen and cater for the customer requirements where each customer is a new situation to the staff.
Adaptability
Life is unpredictable and there can always be events that took place which we did not expect. Learning the art of situational awareness will help in having a better adaptability. When a person learns his surroundings and situations which are often the restrictive factors, the person would tend to adjust himself accordingly so as to best perform in the situation.
If there is a lack of adaptability, one may often find himself to be always in a difficult position. Learning to adjust according to the situation will tend to reduce the problems that are being faced as the decision making will also be done accordingly. Therefore, it is evident that situational awareness is not only beneficial when it comes to the professional jobs, but it is also relevant in the case of everyday life decisions.
Develops Planning Skills
One of the main reasons why you should be learning situational awareness is that it helps in developing planning skills. When an individual tries to learn and adjust according to the situation, he is able to plan out situations in a better manner as compared to the one who does not usually go under such activity.
Quick planning and contingency management are also one of the main outputs of situational awareness. It helps in quickly identifying the surroundings, comparing them with previous similar situations, and making a quick decision on what to do next.
Gives Experience
Having practical experience of the different situations provides better decision making over time. For example, new and young drivers tend to drive fast and may not be able to control the car at high speeds. However, the older ones who are professional drivers have been through a series of such situations where their driving skills have been tested from major to minor , which is why in extreme cases, they are often able to control their cars.
Similar can be the case for Pilots as well. The more they have flown, the more situations they have been through. As a result, they are able to better adjust and control the entire plane in contingency situations.
Develops Analytical Skills
The entire concept of situational awareness revolves around developing the analytical skills. By undergoing into more situations and addressing each one, an individual is able to better analyze a case for upcoming situations. The overall ability to predict and learn from the errors made in previous situations helps in developing analytical skills. As a result, making mistakes and learning from them helps in specializing in a particular task as well as improving it to the best possible manner for the next time.
Ways to Learn Situational Awareness
Based on the many benefits that have been mentioned above, it is now quite clear that learning situational awareness is not an extra but a necessity in the modern era. Without surroundings dynamically changing, situational awareness is becoming more of a need. There are various ways to learn situational awareness.
Watch Videos or Presentations
Interactive learning is one of the best ways to learn situational awareness. It is quite easy. All you have to do is scroll through the internet on any top video websites such as YouTube or Vimeo etc. From there, you can search for situational awareness and learn about it. The videos are a form of lectures as well as a creative way to present a particular point which will help you in learning it much easily.
There are many videos out there which ask you for a test at the end of the video so as to assess whether you have actually learned or not. This would allow you to assess yourself on how close you are to achieving situational awareness.
Attend Seminars
Many have a contradiction with the approach of watching videos online with the claim that situational awareness is a broad topic and a face to face learning is highly necessary. If you belong to one of those believers, you should definitely attend seminars and lectures by some of the famous speakers. Not only will this provide you better learning but you will also be able to have your questions raised as well as gain their answers as well. In addition to that, individuals can also take the help from online seminars.
Learn by Books
Book learning is also one of the best forms of learning, especially for those who find it more convenient to learn through texts and through reading again and again. Take a look at some of the best books on situational awareness. Selection of these books is based on how well the readers liked them as well as the critical analysis on these books.
Spotting Danger Before It Spots You: Build Situational Awareness to Stay Safe
This is one of the most well-known books on situational awareness as well as carefully tackling the dangerous situation written by Gary Dean Quesenberry. The book provides details on the common traits of predatory behavior, evaluating and conducting a safety check, building awareness skills, developing contingency management skills, and living a life free from worries.
Critics such as Dave Grossman, Lt. Colonel, US Army (retired) have said that this book stands out in front of the other ones because it provides thorough and comprehensive presentation of situational awareness. The average rating of this book on Amazon.com is 4.8 out of 5 stars which is why we also recommend you buy it.
The Green Beret Survival Guide
Another well-known book is The Green Beret Survival Guide which has been written by Brian M. Morris. This book is another one on safety and staying focused and active on what is happening around you. It considers recognizing threats as well as ways to avoid crime and terror. The survival guide is truly a remarkable piece of writing as it provides several different ways to learn situational awareness through a long and well-built observation.
Most of the critics said that this book is one of the best safety guides for everyone. Considering the increase in crime and the horrendous situations that people go through every day, this book could provide a pathway to survival in today’s tough world. Many customers who bought it labelled this book as a “Need to have”. The average rating of this book is 4.6 out of 5 stars.
Conclusion
Situational awareness is one of the most important aspects of the 21st century. All over the world, situational awareness is being given a high priority and importance by individuals as well as organizations so that they can act according to the situation in the most suitable manner. Where individuals and organizations are not focused on situational awareness, they tend to face many problems one of which is not knowing what to do and suffering with the situation or not being able to make the right decision.
We suggest all our readers take a good look at some of the books that are mentioned above as well as consult other resources so that they can practically learn situational awareness.