In January, John Collicutt, author of ‘Street Safe Thinking’, spoke to Sixth Form students for the first instalment of the Nicholls Lecture Series of 2022, titled ‘A New Year’s Resolution which might save your life’. Drawing on his own experiences from the military, John delivered a topical lecture on personal safety and awareness.
By Samuel Jones, Upper Sixth Student
To begin his talk, John questioned students on their New Year’s Resolutions, making the point that despite our promises, most of society fail to keep them – likely due to this not being habitual behaviour. Discussing the psychology behind habits and instinctual behaviour, John went on to say how we each have a ‘chimp’ within. Our raw, instinctive and perhaps, moments when we speak before we think, originate in this part of our thinking. This provides us with our quick thinking in dangerous situations, which other parts of our logical brain would take too long to process. Being able to control this ‘chimp’ is an important behaviour to exhibit, as well as being aware of our surroundings.
To describe our surroundings and how far we should be looking, John encouraged students to be aware of people within two to five metres, and to always ask the ‘so what’ questions; therefore being prepared and ready for a developing situation. John explained the importance of this awareness by discussing his own experiences. While travelling abroad, John found himself in a potentially life-threatening situation. By being aware of his surroundings and asking the ‘so what’ questions, John and his colleagues managed to find a safe place to take refuge.
Following the lecture, Sixth Form students joined John as lunch guests to further discuss the situations they find themselves in and other areas of personal safety. I would like to extend my thanks from the entire Sixth Form community to John, for a most relevant and important lecture.