Concealed Carry Mindset: Do You Have It?

by Relentless Tactical

Concealed carry is growing in popularity across the country in all states where it’s legal to do so.

This increase is taking place because more people are waking up to the realization that when you are attacked and need help, that help can still be several minutes away. Oftentimes, the best thing to do is be prepared to defend yourself.

But there is a certain concealed carry mindset that you must have before you ever carry a gun for self-defense. This mindset says that you’re ready, willing, and able to use your gun whenever your life is in danger.

What does this concealed carry mindset look like? Here are three points we’re going to look at, right now:

The desire to live
The morality of self-defense
Living the EDC life

Let’s take a look at each point a bit more in depth:

The Desire To Live

You likely carry a gun on your body because of a desire. That desire is likely this: You want to live.

But this means something else entirely that many people don’t even consider when they make the choice to carry a weapon: One day you may actually have to use that firearm to defend yourself.

It sounds ridiculous, but there are those who carry a gun on their person who do NOT have this mindset, yet still carry a gun. You can often tell who they are after a critical incident by reading defensive gun use stories.

People who fire warning shots have usually not come to grips with the fact that they may need to use a gun to defend their lives. (Warning shots, as we’ll discover in a future article, are generally not a good idea.)

This should hopefully force you to answer the question: Can you see yourself ever drawing your gun, pointing it at an attacker, and pressing the trigger to defend your life (or the lives of loved ones)?

If the answer is no, you have some soul searching to do.

At least part of the issue for these people, is they don’t know if self-defense, or defending their life with their gun, is moral. Let’s tackle that, next.

The Morality of Self-Defense

Expanding on the concealed carry mindset even more is another topic that many gun carriers rarely think about from either end of the spectrum. And, those who do think about it, tend to overthink it.

The question is this: Is it moral to defend myself? Is it moral for me to use my gun to protect my life?

This is difficult for anyone to answer for you, but you.

Something that may help you, though, is looking at it from the point of view that says this: You don’t want to kill anyone. And in fact, it should never be your goal to kill someone. That said, if a person dies because they attacked you, put your life in danger, and forced you to defend yourself with your gun, it’s not your fault.

Had that person not attacked you, you wouldn’t have had to defend yourself. It really is that simple.

You don’t want to use your gun to kill your attacker, you just want to stop the threat and save your own life. If that person dies as a result of their own actions, it removes some of the moral component for you.

Once you’ve mastered what we’ve discussed so far, all that’s left is preparedness.

Living the EDC Life

(EDC stands for Every Day Carry)

While this point seems physical in nature, there is a mental component to it as well. You have to be willing to make certain changes in order to be successful at defending your life. Living the EDC life means that you carry your gun all the time, or at least whenever you can legally do so.

You wake up every day and strap your gun to your waist, and it doesn’t come back off until you’re ready for bed.

When you choose to carry a gun for self-protection, it means that you sometimes need to sacrifice other things like your comfort, ability to move freely, etc., in order to do so.

While these things may be hindered just a bit so you can defend yourself with your gun--it is made up for by the fact that you do have your gun to defend yourself should you ever need it.

If you were to ask any of the countless people who have successfully used a gun to defend themselves if it was worth it to trade their comfort for the ability to defend their lives, they’d likely say it was worth the trade for them to live even if their lives changed afterward.

Living the EDC life means that you’ve made the decision to carry your gun everywhere you can legally go with your firearm because you understand that a mass shooting or robbery can happen just about anywhere.

You want to be ready for any situation because you have the desire to live.

Finally, this also means that you understand the importance of using decent gear to carry your gun to make sure you’re ready if that time comes. The last thing you could ever want is a shoddy holster that doesn’t work right, or a belt not meant to hold the extra weight of a gun. Having decent gear is an absolute must for anyone living the concealed carry lifestyle.

If you are unwilling to make these changes to your lifestyle, you may never be completely ready to defend yourself if the time ever comes.

Conclusion

Having the proper concealed carry mindset gives you the edge against an opponent who would otherwise take your life if given the opportunity. If you have the desire to live, understand that concealed carry isn’t about killing, and are willing to make small adjustments to win--you are better prepared than most.

Do you have the Concealed Carry Mindset?