By Gila Hayes, Gun Digest

If you carry concealed, eventually you’ll be tempted to compromise one of these four things. Don’t give in—avoid them at all costs.

We make hundreds of decisions every day. Be sure the decisions you make enhance your safety.

This includes avoiding dangers, and it means having a way to defend against that which you cannot avoid. Playing a guessing game that tries to predict when trouble may strike is foolhardy.

Habitually and regularly carrying a gun for personal defense whenever and wherever legal is a sensible decision.

You must persevere even when carrying a gun for personal defense is inconvenient, uncomfortable or when doing so opens you up to criticism. Falling prey to a predator is considerably worse than any of those discomforts.

It is ironic that much of the advice about carrying a handgun for personal protection includes compromises.

Here are four compromises you must avoid.

1. Compromises between the size of the gun and the clothing required to conceal it;

2. Compromises in choices of activities to allow legal concealed carry for better personal safety;

3. Compromises in physical comfort for the mental comfort of having a gun quickly at hand to fend off danger.

4. Compromise that is sometimes urged upon us as women to let others take responsibility for our safety. This “offer” is a lie because it simply is not reasonable to believe that another person can be continually present to provide your protection.

If you understand and accept that your safety is your own responsibility, and have chosen to carry a concealed handgun as part of your personal safety provisions, make the commitment to yourself to carry your gun consistently.

The idea that we can predict when danger may strike is ridiculous and demonstrates how very foolish it is to carry your gun only when you find it convenient. Personal safety is a serious, no-compromise responsibility.

Carrying a gun is most successful when practiced consistently. Not only does this mean carrying regularly, it means working to carry in the same holster and body location as much as is possible.

Learning through observation and listening to others is useful, yet know that in the end you have to make your own decisions about what you are safe and comfortable carrying for personal protection.

This article is an excerpt from Concealed Carry for Women, a new book by Gila Hayes. It takes a comprehensive approach for women who have decided to carry a concealed handgun for self-defense. Click Here to Get Your Copy