3d • General discussion
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My last "regular" job was night shift on a very rural ambulance as a tech. We were the only ambulance covering 1500 square miles, and the nearest hospital is 20 miles west of our western border (95 miles from our eastern border). For 50% of our calls, it was just me and my driver who only had basic CPR training.
Although I rarely needed it at work, triage is a skill I use at least weekly for the ranch. Every Sunday morning I plan out my week, identify bottlenecks for time or resources and plan how to navigate it.
This is fully knowing that there WILL be things that derail the schedule. Early in the morning I walk through the animals at home, doing a quick visual scan for abnormal behavior or obvious injury. Also, making sure everyone is in the spot they are supposed to be (goat life). Then, if needed, I could triage what to do when and what resources I would need.
Fast noticing is a skill is developed over time, and it's usefulness isn't limited to medical stuff. If you grew up in a rough home, sadly, you are likely already good at this. It is also sometimes an autistic superpower.
The professional name for this skill is situational awareness. It is the ability to quickly notice and evaluate your surroundings including the behavior of other people, identity things that are not "normal" and decide what you need to do to either stay safe or alter the undesirable possible outcome.
An example would be if you were at a farmers market with your small kids. You notice that several stalls away, there is a man acting very aggressively with a vendor. You choose to casually go the other way and skip that row until later.
Another situation is that you notice a small child wandered off from its parents and is heading towards a road. You step in front of the child to redirect the movement.
The faster you are able to notice, the more time you have to evaluate, and therefore, make a better choice.
You can also develop awareness over long time periods. I know that right now I am dependent on the feed store for rabbit food and I know my demand will go up once the next round of moms have babies. I also know that the price of feed is tied closely to the price of fuel, so I need to respond now to avoid issues in June.
The real trick is to regulate your emotions enough to be able to think clearly about your options. A direct effect of the stress hormone cortisol is tunnel vision. This is why I mentioned emotional regulation in February. Healing trauma, reducing stress and building resilience makes for much better choices in emergencies and over the long haul. This is the primary focus of my coaching program Epic Resilience (available as 1:1 right now). Healing and building resilience creates better choices which have a direct effect on long term health and vitality.
Bonus: being aware also allows you to notice more wildlife and cool flowers while hiking. 😉
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