Post by jimcobb on Feb 19, 2023 21:07:48 GMT
[Note: This is an edited version of an article that first appeared in Backwoods Survival Guide magazine.]
The single most important survival tool you possess resides between your ears. Your mind is far more powerful than any gadget or bit of gear you could carry in a pack. In fact, you could possess the entire contents of a high-end sporting goods store and still perish if you convince yourself that you aren’t going to make it.
However, it isn’t always as simple as just deciding you’re going to make it, though that is definitely involved. There are several facets to the survival mindset.
Positive Thinking
Mindset is crucial because the body will follow the mind. Repeat something to yourself enough times and your brain will make it happen. Let’s say you’re hiking around a lake. You’ve been conditioning your body for the last several months and you’re in decent shape, but that last mile or two, you’re really feeling it. You start thinking, “I can’t do this, not today. I’m too tired, my legs are rubber, it just isn’t going to happen.”
Guess what? You’re probably right. Time and again, we’ve found that our minds can do some pretty interesting things, but not all of them are to our benefit. Even if our body is entirely capable of finishing those last couple of miles on that trail, if the brain tells the legs they’re done, you’re dead in the water.
However, the reverse is also true. We can pull off some pretty incredible feats, if we put our minds to it. When the chips are down, that’s when you need to concentrate on the power of positive thinking. Repeat to yourself that you’re going to succeed, that you’ve overcome worse situations or conditions, that you will make it home and see your loved ones again. Concentrate on that and you just may find that things are starting to look up.
While some folks seem to have an innate ability to always see the positive and land on their feet, regardless of the situation, many people don’t have that luxury. Instead, any time you face some sort of negative experience, get into the habit of telling yourself that it is going to be okay, that it will all work out. Don’t concentrate on the bad things that happen, think about how strong you were when you were able to overcome them.
Anger Helps
With some people, anger can be a great motivator, if you keep it under control. Use the emotion but don’t let it use you. This is where ego can come into play. How dare the fates decide to test you! You’re going to show them, and the world, just what happens when somebody messes with you.
However, the downside is, if you let anger run the show, you run the risk of making snap decisions that may not be in your favor. Further, a violent temper is rarely an asset, so keep your hands off your gear while you rant and rave, lest you end up breaking something or hurting yourself.
If you’re with a partner or group, be very conscious of where you direct your anger, too. Alienating those who should be your allies is not a great idea.
Preps Lend Confidence
An unseen and often unrealized bonus of having gear and supplies with you in a crisis is that it can give you a degree of peace of mind. For example, let’s say you severely twist your ankle while you’re on a solo hike in a remote area. The sun is going down fast and the temperature is also dropping. Your cell phone has no signal and nobody is expecting to hear from you for at least a couple of days. No way around it, you’re not going anywhere until morning, at best.
This could be a fairly serious situation and fear is a very natural response. But, knowing you have emergency equipment in your pack, along with the skills needed to use them effectively, can give you confidence that you’re going to see the sun come up again. This, in turn, plays into that positive thinking we mentioned earlier. Believe you’re going to survive, that you’re going to prevail, and you will.
Adaptability
One of the most important subsets of the survival mindset is being able to adapt to changes in your situation. Many times, we get focused on a single track or plan and, when it doesn’t pan out, we freeze up. We literally stop in our tracks because we don’t know what to do. Think of it like going on a road trip. You’ve planned out the route and you’re tooling along in your car when suddenly there’s a detour sign. The road ahead is closed. Now what? It can be easy to make that decision when you’re just out for a leisurely drive. Pick a direction and keep on trucking. Worst case scenario, you end up seeing part of the town or countryside you’ve never visited before.
But, let’s say this happens when you’re running late for a job interview. Add in that pressure and suddenly making decisions can be much more difficult. You could get locked into an endless loop of envisioning outcomes, with each of them seeming worse than the last.
Now, go a step further and instead of being late to an interview, you’re facing what feels like the very real threat of death. Once you make a plan, you might be terrified to deviate from it the least little bit, in case doing so might lead to a very negative outcome.
Instead, we need to be able to roll with the changes and adapt or adjust our plans to fit. In a true survival situation, any plan of action needs to be fluid rather than locked. There are almost inevitably going to be things that come up that were unexpected.
Go with the flow as best you can, provided it doesn’t place you in even more danger. Getting upset and distressed because the plan didn’t quite work is just a waste of energy. And in a survival situation, energy needs to be conserved whenever possible.
Strength of Will
Strength of will is a single-minded determination that you will overcome any obstacles, that you will do whatever it takes, to make it home safely. While it sort of ties in with positive thinking, this is a more base-level response. Think of positive thinking as being your own cheerleader, whereas strength of will is the athlete competing on the field.
You must be convinced, down to a molecular level, that nothing can stop you. This can be difficult, especially if the situation is prolonged. Depression, frustration, even guilt can all gnaw away at you, causing you to second-guess what you’ve done and any plans you make going forward. You need to save the self-recriminations for later. If you have to, make a bargain with yourself. Agree that you’ll go through all the, “getting in touch with your feelings” after you’ve survived and returned to normal life.
The survival mindset isn’t necessarily something that comes easy to everyone. The different aspects need to be learned, understood, and practiced as best as possible.
The single most important survival tool you possess resides between your ears. Your mind is far more powerful than any gadget or bit of gear you could carry in a pack. In fact, you could possess the entire contents of a high-end sporting goods store and still perish if you convince yourself that you aren’t going to make it.
However, it isn’t always as simple as just deciding you’re going to make it, though that is definitely involved. There are several facets to the survival mindset.
Positive Thinking
Mindset is crucial because the body will follow the mind. Repeat something to yourself enough times and your brain will make it happen. Let’s say you’re hiking around a lake. You’ve been conditioning your body for the last several months and you’re in decent shape, but that last mile or two, you’re really feeling it. You start thinking, “I can’t do this, not today. I’m too tired, my legs are rubber, it just isn’t going to happen.”
Guess what? You’re probably right. Time and again, we’ve found that our minds can do some pretty interesting things, but not all of them are to our benefit. Even if our body is entirely capable of finishing those last couple of miles on that trail, if the brain tells the legs they’re done, you’re dead in the water.
However, the reverse is also true. We can pull off some pretty incredible feats, if we put our minds to it. When the chips are down, that’s when you need to concentrate on the power of positive thinking. Repeat to yourself that you’re going to succeed, that you’ve overcome worse situations or conditions, that you will make it home and see your loved ones again. Concentrate on that and you just may find that things are starting to look up.
While some folks seem to have an innate ability to always see the positive and land on their feet, regardless of the situation, many people don’t have that luxury. Instead, any time you face some sort of negative experience, get into the habit of telling yourself that it is going to be okay, that it will all work out. Don’t concentrate on the bad things that happen, think about how strong you were when you were able to overcome them.
Anger Helps
With some people, anger can be a great motivator, if you keep it under control. Use the emotion but don’t let it use you. This is where ego can come into play. How dare the fates decide to test you! You’re going to show them, and the world, just what happens when somebody messes with you.
However, the downside is, if you let anger run the show, you run the risk of making snap decisions that may not be in your favor. Further, a violent temper is rarely an asset, so keep your hands off your gear while you rant and rave, lest you end up breaking something or hurting yourself.
If you’re with a partner or group, be very conscious of where you direct your anger, too. Alienating those who should be your allies is not a great idea.
Preps Lend Confidence
An unseen and often unrealized bonus of having gear and supplies with you in a crisis is that it can give you a degree of peace of mind. For example, let’s say you severely twist your ankle while you’re on a solo hike in a remote area. The sun is going down fast and the temperature is also dropping. Your cell phone has no signal and nobody is expecting to hear from you for at least a couple of days. No way around it, you’re not going anywhere until morning, at best.
This could be a fairly serious situation and fear is a very natural response. But, knowing you have emergency equipment in your pack, along with the skills needed to use them effectively, can give you confidence that you’re going to see the sun come up again. This, in turn, plays into that positive thinking we mentioned earlier. Believe you’re going to survive, that you’re going to prevail, and you will.
Adaptability
One of the most important subsets of the survival mindset is being able to adapt to changes in your situation. Many times, we get focused on a single track or plan and, when it doesn’t pan out, we freeze up. We literally stop in our tracks because we don’t know what to do. Think of it like going on a road trip. You’ve planned out the route and you’re tooling along in your car when suddenly there’s a detour sign. The road ahead is closed. Now what? It can be easy to make that decision when you’re just out for a leisurely drive. Pick a direction and keep on trucking. Worst case scenario, you end up seeing part of the town or countryside you’ve never visited before.
But, let’s say this happens when you’re running late for a job interview. Add in that pressure and suddenly making decisions can be much more difficult. You could get locked into an endless loop of envisioning outcomes, with each of them seeming worse than the last.
Now, go a step further and instead of being late to an interview, you’re facing what feels like the very real threat of death. Once you make a plan, you might be terrified to deviate from it the least little bit, in case doing so might lead to a very negative outcome.
Instead, we need to be able to roll with the changes and adapt or adjust our plans to fit. In a true survival situation, any plan of action needs to be fluid rather than locked. There are almost inevitably going to be things that come up that were unexpected.
Go with the flow as best you can, provided it doesn’t place you in even more danger. Getting upset and distressed because the plan didn’t quite work is just a waste of energy. And in a survival situation, energy needs to be conserved whenever possible.
Strength of Will
Strength of will is a single-minded determination that you will overcome any obstacles, that you will do whatever it takes, to make it home safely. While it sort of ties in with positive thinking, this is a more base-level response. Think of positive thinking as being your own cheerleader, whereas strength of will is the athlete competing on the field.
You must be convinced, down to a molecular level, that nothing can stop you. This can be difficult, especially if the situation is prolonged. Depression, frustration, even guilt can all gnaw away at you, causing you to second-guess what you’ve done and any plans you make going forward. You need to save the self-recriminations for later. If you have to, make a bargain with yourself. Agree that you’ll go through all the, “getting in touch with your feelings” after you’ve survived and returned to normal life.
The survival mindset isn’t necessarily something that comes easy to everyone. The different aspects need to be learned, understood, and practiced as best as possible.