Saturday, November 6, 2010

The Gift of Fear-A Book Review

I watched the episode on Oprah a few years back that featured the author, Gavin deBecker, and his exceptional work The Gift of Fear.
His book was published in 1997, and tells many true stories which demonstrate his principles. This is a book dealing with personal relationships as well as management.
One of the most surprising theories is that our intuition warns us well in advance of any violence. Unlike wild animals, humans will try to dismiss these warnings, especially if acting upon them would be construed as impolite. I obtained a copy of the book, which I highly recommend, and incorporated his findings into my strategies for surviving on the road and in strange or new locations.
I looked up this book at Wikipedia to see what they posted, and copied these 7 Pre-Incident Indicators, to give you a taste of the good advice and lessons in this book. No doubt many people can look back on their lives and remember when these indicators were present before a bad turn of events.
"PINS (Pre-Incident Indicators)
1-Forced Teaming. This is when a person tries to pretend that he has something in common with a person and that they are in the same predicament when that isn't really true.
2-Charm and Niceness. This is being polite and friendly to a person in order to manipulate him or her.
3-Too many details. If a person is lying they will add excessive details to make themselves sound more credible.
4-Typecasting. An insult to get a person who would otherwise ignore one to talk to one.
5-Loan Sharking. Giving unsolicited help and expecting favors in return.
6-The Unsolicited Promise. A promise to leave someone alone when none was asked for, this usually means they won't leave the person alone.
7-Discounting the Word “No”. Refusing to accept rejection.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gift_of_Fear

Gavin deBecker works with individuals as well as corporations. His website is
https://www.gavindebecker.com/

I believe as society faces worsening challenges, we must protect ourselves by predicting and preventing personal injuries.

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