fight or flight?

I wish I said I chose to fight in dangerous situations, rather than flee. However, as much as I try to fight, my instinct to flee kicks in way too fast to even think of holding my fists up and say 'bring it on!'

I'll never forget the church party I was at in seventh grade when the bounce house I was in began to deflate. As I saw my impending doom of suffocation, I dove - literally - head first out of the entrance sliding past my friends. Did I stop and ask them if they were okay? Oh no. I just made sure my flight from the scene was swift. Although I made it out safely (as everyone else did too), I was also laughed at for my fear of the deflating bounce house was a bit exaggerated.

So when the 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit a week and a half ago and I felt the building shake, what did I do? I fled. However, remembering the bounce house incident, I told everyone in my path to 'get out' of the building to safe ground. (Yes. I know they teach you to go under your desk, but I have my own tactics.) I also walked instead of running. I see this as progress.

Although I was quiet enough to not embarrass myself, I did feel slightly bad when one of my co-workers tripped on his way to the door after I told him to leave the building. That is a story that will be retold for quite some time. The next day he was asking people if they had seen me shove him to the ground. I promise I was a full three feet away from him and his shoes had no traction. Unfortunately, I tend to laugh too much in order to defend myself since the idea really isn't that far off.