In episode 158 we discuss individual/personal mission and its importance particularly in the context of current events. We are seeing substantial division across the country on social media, in the news, on the streets (often in the form of protests and even riots) emphasizing the civil unrest. Helping people understand their mission, particularly in the context of self-defense or the defense of others, is important for many reasons — not least to demonstrate the dangers of stepping outside your mission.
Listen to the podcast for some fresh, new content. Below you’ll find a few excerpts. Some (by no means all) of the topics you’ll hear include:
- 2:25 Host Daniel Shaw identifies his personal mission
- 3:48 Discrepancies between mission and action
- 5:52 Knowing when to intervene
- 6:10 Two examples of mission: Shooter Rughi
- 8:10 Having a clear mission with a clear plan
- 9:34 Mission violation and how it happens
- 11:30 The consequences of violating mission
- 12:21 The role of ego
- 13:44 Self-control as a practice
- 18:00 What host Daniel Shaw wishes he had learned earlier in life
Podcast Host: Daniel Shaw
Co-Host: Varg Freeborn
Producer and Transcriptionist: Leah Ramsden
The Importance of Mission
Defining It
1:00 Asked what mission means to a regular armed citizen [or] law enforcement officer, VF responds,
“Mission is, primarily what you’re willing to do, what you’re allowed to do, who you’re going to do it to, having all those questions answered before anything ever happens.It’s made up of boundaries, external and internal parameters;
External being the use of force policies or rule of law – what’s allowed for self-defense in the area or municipality you live in, understanding those things helps determine your mission.
And your internal parameters; what are you willing to kill or die for. How can you set yourself up for the moral aftermath of what might be involved in defending yourself, is that a part of your parameters?
Your mission is built from understanding what lengths you’re willing to go through and what your limitations are. – that’s going to determine your gear, how you train, it really is what drives the whole train.”
Violations: Mission vs Action
“If you step out of your house every day and you say your primary mission is to protect your family and yourself so you can live out your life with your family…then you go out and you get involved in every fight that you see happening because you want to be the hero. That’s a discrepancy between mission and action…
If you can’t have a majority of these decisions made before the fight, you’re going to stumble during the fight. You’re going to have hesitations and, you’re going to have uncertainties, those are things that we train to eliminate in fighting so that we can be effective…And you can’t do that if you’re unclear about; what you’re willing to do, who you’re willing to do it to, when you’re willing to do it.”
“There’s this huge plethora of consequences, unintended but very avoidable consequences that will come from violating your mission…You could have consequences that you are not properly equipped because you stepped into something bigger that what you [had prepared] for.”
Importance of Self Control: Separating Ego
14:00 Asked, How do you practice self-control? Is it easy for you? VF responds,
“Absolutely not! If anyone gets angry about stuff… I’m up there…
If you allow [your ego] to push you into a confrontation, I would hope that you didn’t have a mission to get into every ego-based confrontation that you could find in a given day because somebody makes you mad.
The way to handle situations like that is to put your ego aside and understand that your ego and your feelings don’t have anything to do with your mission and it needs to be separated. You can never allow your emotions or your ego to push you into a confrontation because that simply cannot attach to a well thought out, properly formed mission.”
“…Hatred is at a high, all this hatred, all this division – it gets worse and worse and people think they can say whatever. Self-control is a constant thing in [our] environment. All day long you deal with annoyances and disruptive behavior by people. Every single instance of that is the opportunity to practice self-control.”
“Self control isn’t just something we practice on the range or in the gym, it’s something we practice all day […It could save your life].” –Varg Freeborn
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