Think on your feet
There are times in life when you are greeted with circumstances beyond your control. Whether it’s simply being unprepared or an unexpected crisis, there are going to be times when you need to be able to think and react quickly.
Practice not for the answer, but for the confidence. The next time you’re in a meeting and someone asks you a question, instead of that sinking feeling, you’ll have the confidence to face the situation. When you can think on your feet, you gain confidence. You turn fear into determination.
Fear is ok. Fear can be powerfully good. Not all fear is bad.
In October of 1995, I was faced with an unexpected crisis. I remember calling my Dad after a long day and thanking him for instilling the ability to think on my feet that allowed me to function that day.
I was part of a school shooting. A student marched into the high school where I was teaching at the time and took several of the office personnel as hostages. I was in the guidance office at the time when the phone rang and a panicked main office secretary informed us that a student had come in with a rifle and began making threats. I remember at that very moment how the dynamic in the room changed. Bosses, managers, administrators, underlings… All those roles evaporated. A true crisis will cause leaders, both men, and women, to rise to the surface.
One of the male guidance counselors and I immediately took control of the situation, gathering up the staff and directing them to a nearby exit. We quickly sized up the situation, the layout of the building, and how we could get the most students out without alerting the gunman to our actions. We quickly made our way down the hallway into the academic wing. I remember going into each room with a very stoic voice and giving concise instructions on being absolutely silent and which stairway to take to avoid being seen. The set of my jaw and the look in my eyes was all the kids needed to see to know that I meant business and demanded compliance. The two of us stealthily evacuated 95% of the student body in a matter of a few minutes. We had directed the students to go to the field hockey field as outlined in our school emergency plan in the case of an evacuation. As I was doing a final check and running to join the students outside, the gunman and his hostages rounded the corner as he was marching them outside. I kept running, opting to find a safer vantage point to work from rather than joining the masses on the field hockey field. While I was running, a shot was fired. Unsure whether he was firing at me or someone else, I kept running until I was able to duck into the tall grass behind a mound of earth. The first thing I looked for was a body, seeing none I shifted my attention to hundreds of screaming kids fleeing in panic. At the time I was an avid mountain biker and as a result, I had an intimate knowledge of the trails in the woods where many of the kids were headed. I ran to a trail intersection and began yelling for the kids to converge on my location. I could see the tears and panic as well as some of the leaders who had emerged in the chaos. Some of my football players had taken charge and were helping pass students up over the chainlink fence to safety. I directed them to gather the students and follow down the trail to a road and eventually to a nearby convenience store. From there I called the bus garage and directed them to send every available bus to the convenience store to gather up students and ferry them to the junior high school where they would be able to connect with their families.
A particular moment that stuck in my mind, happened that day at the convenience store. A school administrator from the junior high school had come to assist. I asked him if he could call the bus garage. He just stood there in shock, unable to process what was happening. I made the call myself. I learned a valuable lesson that day. Your job or your title does not make you a true leader. Yes, you may be able to make administrative decisions in a comfortable environment, but when the chips are down and a real crisis arrives…can you think on your feet?
I grew up watching my Dad run toward trouble, not away from it. In a tense situation, an accident, a dying neighbor, a fire, or an injured child, my Dad was always willing to help.
Some watch. Some run away. A man protects those around him. He thinks quickly and reacts to the situation as it unfolds. Protecting his family is first and foremost with his community close behind.
Being able to think on your feet is a skill you can learn. Role-playing in your mind can help you with this. Think of all the questions you might be asked in a business meeting. Place yourself mentally in certain uncomfortable situations. For example, if a fight were to break out here in this bar, how would I protect my wife or girlfriend? Think of scenarios and how you’d deal with them. These brain exercises help prepare you for the real thing.
To help prepare yourself for emergencies, get trained in basic first aid, and CPR. Those skills alone will prove very valuable should you ever need them. I credit my years as a Boy Scout with preparing me for many of the situations I’ve encountered over the years. Insist that your children also learn first aid and CPR. Learn basic survival skills. How to build a fire, cooking over a fire, gathering basic food, erecting a shelter, learning to use a map and compass, and staying calm. Practice these skills with your children. Learn together. Show them that it’s ok to be afraid, but you can turn that fear into determination. It’s actually fun to practice survival skills. I take comfort in the fact that I know if the worst happens, I can survive off the land and protect my family. You may never need these skills, but they’ll give you the confidence to know that you can survive or render assistance if you need to.
Practice looking around. Know what your options are. Assess your situation and how you might deal with evacuation, escape, or confrontation should it arise. Train yourself mentally so that your first instinct isn’t to run, but to think. When you’re finally able to think on your feet and adjust accordingly you can be the man that your family and your community need you to be.
NOTE: In the end, no one was hurt (aside from bruises) in the school shooting incident. The shot was fired into the air. The incident was “pre-Columbine”.
More information about CPR courses can be found here: https://cpr.heart.org/
More information on first-aid classes can be found here: https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/first-aid
