The 411 on Dialing 911

Turns out when human beings panic, they revert to learned behaviors.  This is why, when you are in boot camp or training to be a police officer for example, you are pushed beyond what you believe your limits are. When your drill instructor makes you keep going, even when you think you can’t, what he is doing is instilling a learned behavior in you. What he is doing is training you not to die. The people who learn this are the people who, when shot, manage to survive. They have been trained never to give up, to push themselves beyond their limits. That is their new learned behavior. When they’re in combat and their brains turn off, they still function in ways that can save their lives. 

So, cut to something more mundane, a normal, everyday panic, something happens to you that requires dialing 911.  Most of us have never actually done it, and if you’re in a situation where a loved one is in peril, chances are “panic” is a good description of what you’re going through.  What most of us HAVE done, however, is dial 411.  Apparently, what happens all the time is freaked out people dial 411 over and over, thinking they’re calling for help and unable to understand why they keep reaching information instead.  In their head they’re thinking “911″, but their fingers are drilled into dialing “411.” 

The solution?  Every once in a while, unplug your phone, sit your family down and practice dialing 911.  Sounds stupid, but wouldn’t you rather do something stupid a few minutes a week and know that you’ll be capable if it ever comes down to it?

There you go.  Homework for the night. Practice helping yourself and others survive.