At the academy we teach recruits about “cross country walking” when ventilating on a roof. As we know it refers to walking diagonally or in a non-linear path across the roof, which is considered unsafe practice as it often involves traversing areas that might not be structurally sound, and should be avoided by firefighters when accessing a roof to perform ventilation; instead, always walk along the edges and structural supports like ridges and valleys to maintain safety.
I recently read this article above from the late Dr. Charles Stanley on Keeping Your Eye on the Lord. It reminded me of cross country walking.
Have you ever tried to make a perfectly straight line of footprints? It’s not as easy as you might think! Most people would tread slow and steady, heads down, focusing intensely on their feet.
But whenever someone faces this challenge with eyes downward, those footprints will be crooked. If you walk while staring at your feet, you’ll actually have no idea where you’re going. Perspective will be lacking because you can’t see how you fit into the larger landscape. Genuine focus is missing since every step treads over the last step’s focal point.
The only way to make a straight line of footprints is to ignore your feet. Instead, look directly ahead and find a fence post, street sign, or tree in the distance. Then, with your eyes fixed on that target, walk toward it. If you’ve locked your focus on something other than yourself, the path will be much closer to straight.
If we walk through life concentrating inwardly, we will miss the bigger picture and likely go off course. But when we focus beyond ourselves, fixing our thoughts on Jesus Christ, we can trust our path will be straight and trustworthy every step of the way according to Dr. Stanley.
This article struck a cord with me. A reminder of the importance situational awareness and to look at everything in front, around and behind you while working an incident. It’s easy to get focused on the task at hand, however it can be dangerous if we do not keep an open mind.
Additionally, we are constantly bombarded with distractions that can divert our attention from reflecting on or making sound decisions on both short and long-term goals personally & professionally. Regardless of whether these distractions stem from internal or external issues, we can easily lose focus on the big picture.
I’ve kept this article from Fire Rescue1 back in January of 2011 “Looking at the Big Picture” https://bit.ly/3WDiFVt The ONLY way to achieve a true understanding (at least initially) of what you have in front of you is to “see” it and see all of it.
Watch Your Step – But Maintain Situational Awareness at All Times!
Sam DiGiovanna is a 40-year fire service veteran. He started with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, served as Fire Chief at the Monrovia Fire Department, and currently serves as Chief at the Verdugo Fire Academy in Glendale. He also is Associate Director for the California Training Officers Association and a consultant for www.Lexipol.com