"Mattering most" is an odd taxonomy for the things in our lives. Today it may seem that getting to the dentist or buying that anniversary gift for your loved one (don't forget this!) is the most important matter mattering before you. However, I submit that a lot of "little matters" matter most from second to second. And some of these are ubiquitous, constant matters that we may, from time to time, neglect. Neglecting a "little matter" can turn it into a "matters most" matter in a fraction of a second.
Let us take our friend, the seat belt. Now 99.9% of the time a seat belt is just an anchor for your rear end as you drive casually around. The fraction of the time you drive "hauling ass," when you absolutely need that butt to stay in that vehicle, is pretty low and accidents do not show up on your phone's appointment app. That split second when an unexpected crisis occurs is, sadly, not the time to remember how important a matter keeping your body in the cockpit truly is; but in actual fact, in those hundredths of a second, it is the thing that matters most!
The fact that a seat belt is passive and, once fastened, a constant throughout the time you are in transit in a vehicle means the conscious act of attaching yourself to your ride takes a fraction of a second upon entering the vehicle, and detaching should be a simple "habit" with no conscious thought whatsoever. So we can say that the matter of fastening your seat belt should be of little matter except for the fact that keeping your matter intact depends on the seat belt caring for the matter it is designed for. The weak element in the design of your seat belt is you. You have to take care of one small matter to make all the meanings of matter in this sentence matter. So dammit … why not?
The same holds true for body armor. This is a passive tool that requires you to put the damn thing on before danger, and take it off after. But we can't know when we will actually need our armor. By which we mean, "We don't know when it will matter most." Yeppers, we do not, so that is why it is passive; once put on, it is there until the moment it matters most, throughout the shift, until such time as you decide it just does not matter enough to keep wearing it—hopefully at the moment you are no longer on duty.
OK, here is the point. If you believe your life matters, the people who love you matter, the job you do matters, and the actions you take matter, then why do you fail to do things that will matter most when your life is on the line? If you don't wear a seat belt, start wearing the damn thing. Worried about "being tactical" (whatever that is when you are hauling ass in your patrol vehicle)? Then practice unfastening your seat belt without looking.
