Recalling today a fun conversation I had with a military pilot instructor, who emphasized the importance of situational awareness in his training, the cliff notes?
Situational awareness vs. target fixation.
Target fixation is an attention phenomenon where an individual becomes so focused on the target (or a goal) that they increase their risk of crashing into the target or it places them at greater risk of ignoring other factors going on around them.
As the name implies, situational awareness is simply knowing what’s going on around you and involves at least three key steps:
1. Perception of what is happening
2. Understanding of what has been perceived
3. The use of what is understood to think ahead and act accordingly
Whether it’s sports, art, or business, understanding target fixation vs. situational awareness will serve us all very well.
