Harold Harton is a Lampasas resident who has contributed outdoors writing to the Dispatch Record for more than 50 years. The late Col. Jeff Cooper in 1976 founded the well-known training center in Arizona known as Gunsight. Its purpose was to offer several levels of firearms training, as well as serve as a basic selfdefense training center.

One of the colonel's training tools is that of "mindset," which is really a state of mind and being aware at all times of one's surroundings.

Cooper used a set of colors to illustrate the levels of mindset. The first is white, which is the state of mind under which most people operate in their daily, uninterrupted life. They are relatively unaware of their surroundings and unprepared for any unusual situation that may occur. If a threat arises, it may leave them in a state of shock or disbelief and unprepared for action.

Yellow mode is the mindset he believed we should adopt in place of "white." In this mindset, we operate in a relaxed state but always aware of the surroundings. This mode combines relaxation with full awareness and allows one to react to an unexpected change where a danger may present itself.

Orange is the next progression and refers to a specific threat. At this point, one would escape from the area if at all possible. If escape is impossible, the next move is the red mindset.

Under "red," one reverts to self-defense, which requires action using the skills learned through training. A person may still be able to avoid a confrontation by simply showing his or her ability to react in a defensive way.

If a person has not taken the time to be trained for self-defense, one can at least adopt the "yellow" mindset, which is a first line of defense. To do this, all one must do is adopt the mindset of awareness.

Remember: Most criminal acts are responded to by law enforcement after the fact, so it is important to be prepared and alert. Turn on the "yellow" light or get more training so you'll know how to handle any potential dangerous situation.