The Sheepdog Mindset – Part 1: Introduction

I recently stumbled upon a post on one of my favourite prepping-related Facebook groups, commenting on the recent (apparent) uptick in random, violent crimes in the Greater Toronto Area. The conversation began with a review of pertinent current events, and recent trends in violent crime, and then shifted to a series of “what-if’s”, and questions around the legality of various responses to violence, and violent assailants.

When I began typing my contribution to the conversation, I soon realized that this subject is far too complex and nuanced to fully understand without discussing it within the broader context of mindset.

As fate would have it, I had not yet settled on a topic for the inaugural post on my new blog, so I decided to abort my Facebook comment, collect my thoughts, and compose a blog post — a series of posts, actually — aimed at addressing the misconceptions and concerns many Canadians have around the laws pertaining to self-defence, while also giving the broader topic of mindset the thoughtful and thorough treatment it deserves.

 

“Your mindset is your primary weapon.”

~ Col. Jeff Cooper

 

Mindset is defined, in the simplest and most general terms, as one’s view of, and attitude toward, someone or something.

The Sheepdog Mindset is a carefully-cultivated and ever-evolving attitude of vigilance, diligence and resilience, oriented specifically for disaster, deception, conflict and violence.

When our clients come to us for personal safety and security training, our first order of business — regardless of their previous training or experience, or the course in which they are enrolled — is to ensure they begin with the proper mindset. Why… ? Because it is that damned important. It is the foundation upon which all other skills and abilities are developed.

We have created a 5-step process to aid in our, and our clients’, cultivation of the Sheepdog Mindset, which are as follows:

 

1. Know the enemy, and yourself.

• Strive to understand the orientation of the predatory criminal — aka. the Wolf. The Wolf’s orientation — comprised of his genetics, moral, ethical and cultural values, emotional attachments, life experiences, etc. — serves as the lens through which he views the people and world around him, and is the source of the criteria that he uses to make all of his decisions. Use your understanding of the Wolf’s orientation to inform and refine your own orientation, and improve the quality and reliability of your observations, assessments and decision-making.

 

2. Define your mission. 

• Defining, and clearly articulating, your personal safety and security mission — “Get home to my family”; “Protect my family and myself”;  “Protect and serve my community”; “Defend my country against it’s enemies” — will aid you in determining what education, training, tools and gear to acquire, and which strategies, tactics and techniques to employ, to successfully accomplish that mission.

 

3. Establish mission parameters.

• Set your moral and ethical boundaries, as they apply to personal safety and security, to keep you laser-focused on your mission, and suppress any self-defeating impulses that could potentially cause witnesses, law enforcement and/or court authorities to perceive you as the villain in your own self-defence story.

 

4. Understand the rules of engagement.

• Clarify and confirm the legal boundaries outlined in the Criminal Code of Canada, and proven through Canadian case law, to further help you avoid crossing the line between self-defence and assault (or worse).

 

5. Prepare to fight, and win, on multiple battlefronts.

• Learn what will be required to be successful on each of the five distinct, but intimately related, “battlefronts” that exist within any fight for survival — ie. Psychological, physical, technical, legal, and social.

 

The outline, above, is pretty vague (by design), but it should still give you a sense of the breadth and complexity of this subject. Cultivating the Sheepdog Mindset will take some time. It will require you to go deeeeep into the dark recesses of your psyche, ask your self some hard questions, and challenge many of your long-held values and beliefs.

These are your first, and most important steps on the long, steep, winding and rocky path to the peak of Sheepdog Mountain. You may get a little (or a lot) uncomfortable along the way, and stumble occasionally, but I guarantee you that if you honour the process, and do the work, you will arrive at your destination with a well-informed orientation for disaster, deception, conflict and violence, a clearly-defined and articulated mission, and a thorough understanding of what is required for you to accomplish that mission.

Stay tuned for Part-2 of this series, entitled: Know Your Enemy, and Yourself.

Cheers, all — and prepare to prevail!