The DiFalco Den

4 Stages of Alertness

If you are not filled with the Holy Spirit, get filled.

If you don’t know what that is, ask me or someone in my family, we are ALL spirit filled – it is a supernatural gift from God.

Remember, you can’t get the supernatural without the natural, so do your part, the natural part, and educate yourself and get filled!

In any public situation there are 4 situational “alert” stages.  You will fall into one of them whether you know it or not.

• White – you are oblivious to what is going on around you. Your eyes are glued to the phone, you are reading a book or magazine, you are talking on the phone, you are sleeping…take your pick. White is not a desirable state to be in – DO NOT allow yourself to linger here. Always advance to Yellow.
• Yellow – first thing you do is evaluate the people around you. Who looks scary. Who looks like they might help if something bad went down. Let Holy Spirit guide you here. 99.99% of the time there will be nothing to worry about, you can relax. The main thing is to always know what is going on around you.
• Orange – this is where your spidey sense, or Holy Spirit raises your alertness. Observe. If you see something, say something – call 911 or whatever security organization is close. I would rather face a little embarrassment for calling in something that is nothing than the alternative. If the situation warrants, leave the situation. If you are on the subway, there’s another train coming shortly, get off. If you are getting on a plane…same thing, get off if you feel like there is something wrong. NO MEETING is worth the risk if Holy Spirit is strongly influencing you to leave. I have only had to switch to Orange a couple of times, and I was able to take appropriate action, but still those situations could have escalated.
• Red – In the name of Jesus, this will never be the case, especially if you are following these awareness colors. However, if you do happen to find something bad going down, DON’T PANIC. Holy Spirit will lead you, every situation will be different but He will ALWAYS provide a way to get through it. I have never seen Red, I have seen Orange though, in those situations I was able to take proactive steps to help some others stay safe and avert the Red state.

Don’t Panic

When faced with unexpected difficulty, calmness will win the day.

Losing control of your vehicle while driving? Don’t panic. If you are skidding, steer into the skid, but keep your cool. If you know what is going on around you, you can steer away from danger safely. If you have to make a choice between hitting a person or hitting an animal…always choose to hit the animal, and that includes if your other choice is to hit an immovable object.

Trouble at work – someone being difficult – maybe someone throwing you under the bus? Don’t panic – in these situations, good leadership will always want to get at a solution and not play the blame game. If you focus on solutions you will come out ahead. And, if leadership is looking to play the blame game…get out.

Trying to get help from customer service? Your flight is cancelled? Trying to return something you bought? On the phone with the help desk and they are clueless or don’t speak your language? Stay calm, it will be OK. Be nice in those situations, even if they don’t deserve your niceness – you win in the end..

You have heard of Gibbs’ rules…Here are Joe’s Nuggets

Some of these are “tongue and cheek”, and they all contain valuable life lessons.

Over the years, I have done my best to collect wisdom from many sources. Books, friends, mentors, family, spiritual leaders and yes, even TV and movies can provide bits of wisdom if you know where to look!

Enjoy these, know them, live them!

The Main Thing

Always know what is going on around you.

What started out as some advice for my kids when I taught them to drive evolved into something that is applicable for life in many situations.

While driving – always know where other drivers are in relation to you and keep an eye on them. Always practice defensive driving. They may not be as good a driver as you.

At work – know what your boss’ position is in the company and how well he/she is doing in their position. Do your best to help them strengthen that position, at the same time keep your options open.

On the subway (or anywhere there a a lot of people close together) – take mental notes of the situation – situational awareness which will be mentioned in a different nugget. Look at each person around you and let Holy Spirit guide your attention. 99.99% of the time you will feel safe, it is that .01% that can bite you in the rear.