ESCAPING THE O-ZONE IBD

Sinopsis

The O-Zone is the Oblivious Zone.ThatâÇÖs the place where weâÇÖre stuck in our heads or have our full attention focused only on whatâÇÖs immediately in front of us (phone screen, concert, movie, conversation weâÇÖre having at a restaurant or bar)áand weâÇÖre giving no thought to whatâÇÖs going on around us. ItâÇÖs the 'head in the clouds' attitude where one minute we can be having a very fine day and the next have our lives turned upside down . . . or worse.The O-Zone is where predators find their prey.The cool thing is, we occasionally get a nudge that lets us know something bad could be just about to happen. We spot a van with tinted windows parked next to our vehicle in the empty parking garage. A knock at our door presents a guy from the gas company who isnâÇÖt wearing a uniform and has no ID but wants to inspect the furnace. That drink the sexy stranger at the club bought us tastes funny. That popping sound from down the hall.But . . . the warnings arenâÇÖt always that obvious. Sometimes theyâÇÖre so subtle they can easily go unnoticed while weâÇÖre doing something else. The local news is full of stories of folks who walk into danger, get a purse wallet or car stolen, get knocked on the head or shot and then are quoted afterward as saying 'I donâÇÖt know why I didnâÇÖt see that coming.' If they are fortunate enough to have an afterward.Our trouble alerts come from the subconscious, an on-board mini-computer that picks up and interprets all sorts of micro-data, bundling and assessing and forming it into our intuition or what some call our 'sixth sense.' If you practice defensive driving, youâÇÖre paying attention to your intuition. Similarly, if you know your kid didnâÇÖt do his homework...or brush his teeth...or is hiding something more serious from you...thatâÇÖs your intuition speaking.But . . . if data to that intuitive warning system is blocked because youâÇÖre not paying attention to your surroundings, you may not get that alert.Escaping the O-Zone teaches tactics to help recognize trouble-in-the-making. And how to size up a situation so as to be ready to react if trouble develops.