Perhaps the two greatest threats we will face in 2021 live inside our own heads. Normalcy bias and cognitive dissonance can have disabling effects during a crisis. I believe these enemies from within will be our greatest threats in 2021.
The new year is primed to be an undoubtedly dynamic and uncertain one. The inability to plan, observe, orient, decide, and act can and will be a massive disadvantage for many.
Within the firearms community, there is the often repeated adage of “the firearm is just a tool, you are the weapon.” Keeping with that train of thought, normalcy bias and cognitive dissonance are examples of potentially catastrophic malfunctions of the human weapon system. Just as with a firearm, these malfunctions require immediate action.
The fundamental principles of the physical manipulation of firearms also holds true in the psychological realm. The mindset required to effectively employ a tool during a critical stress event requires knowledge, understanding, planning and practice.
Let us start with knowledge and understanding of the threats. Simply put, normalcy bias is to downplay threats. Sometimes, normalcy bias will manifest itself as out right disbelief. As a result, the victim will not adequately prepare for the threat. Consequently, when the threat arises and reality delivers a three round burst center mast of the ill prepared individual, cognitive dissonance will set in.
Cognitive dissonance is merely our mental gears grinding as our blissfully ignorant beliefs are violently contradicted by a real world crisis. Rather than responding to the crisis at hand, some will hesitate, some will flat out disregard the reality, others will become emotional, some will suffer a shut down, and from that point, the outcome is fairly predictable.
So how do we defeat these threats? The answer is simple. As I said before, we are the weapon. All weapons can malfunction but the best way to prevent malfunctions is proper maintenance.
We must take care ourselves, physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. We must feed our weapon system with the proper, quality ammunition. Knowledge and education dispels fear. We must be aware of what’s going on in the world around us and educate ourselves as to potential threats and how to mitigate them. Use knowledge and education to develop survival plans that will serve us through periods of crisis.
Lastly, practice and rehearse the plan when times are good because the more we do so, the less thinking the actual execution will require under pressure. The time to fix the roof is when the sun is shining.
As we enter the new year, the road ahead is riddled with uncertainty. The past 12 months have weighed heavy on many people. The nation is in a collectively weakened state and susceptible to all kinds of threats. If things go bad, or even if they don’t, it is safe to say that any action we take toward preparedness will serve us well.
In preparing, we have everything to gain and nothing to lose. In conclusion, remember, to whom much is given, much is required. Life is the greatest teacher and the longer we live, the more opportunities we are given to heed the signs around us as they become more and more prominent.
If we allow ourselves to become victims of normalcy bias and cognitive dissonance, whatever becomes of us will be exactly what we deserve.