{"id":1951,"date":"2024-03-31T20:11:45","date_gmt":"2024-03-31T20:11:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=1951"},"modified":"2024-03-31T20:11:45","modified_gmt":"2024-03-31T20:11:45","slug":"mental-toughness-is-the-best-survival-tool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=1951","title":{"rendered":"Mental Toughness Is the Best Survival Tool"},"content":{"rendered":"


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By Kit Perez<\/a><\/p>\n

I<\/span>t has been said that in combat the mind is the weapon while the gun is merely the tool. Much can be said about non-combat survival situations. In these cases, mental toughness is often your best shot at making it.<\/p>\n

Any quick Google search can bring up thousands of articles and tips on survival. We even have many survival articles<\/a> right here on The Armory Life<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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These recruits learn mental toughness during exposure to CS gas in basic training at the U.S. Navy Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, IL. Image: MCS1C S. Fling\/U.S. Navy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There\u2019s a great deal to learn, from medical skills to communications, food to sanitation and, of course, self-defense. The physical tools to help accomplish your survival goals are limitless as well.<\/p>\n

The most important tool you have, however, is your own brain with a positive mental attitude, which can bring a whole host of things to the table \u2014 things you can\u2019t buy anywhere but that you\u2019ll desperately need.<\/p>\n

Adaptability \u2014 Understanding Yourself<\/h2>\n

We often don\u2019t like to engage in the kind of soul-searching that mental toughness requires, but we all have weaknesses, fears, and other nasty things that can keep us from being where we need to be in our mental game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We can\u2019t mitigate a threat we refuse to believe exists. Before we can claim mental toughness \u2014 or even get started on the process of developing it \u2014 first we must find and admit where we\u2019re mentally weak. That can be an uncomfortable thing to do, but the sooner you get to a place where you can point to your own weaknesses, name them, and recognize when they\u2019re having an effect, the sooner you can get to work mitigating those effects.<\/p>\n

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That means if you\u2019re ever in a survival situation you\u2019ll be able to recognize when those weaknesses are cropping up and do what\u2019s necessary to get them under control.<\/p>\n

Survival Mindset \u2014 Calm During the Crisis<\/h2>\n

The mental skill of being able to perform in a stressful situation is something that must be learned, practiced, and maintained. It won\u2019t matter how big your medical bag is or how extensive your tools are if you cannot think clearly enough to use them when someone is severely injured or sick. All the things you\u2019ve stocked to prepare for various types of emergencies will not help you if you fall apart under pressure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The hard truth is that the only thing that prepares you to perform when you\u2019re stressed is to simulate performing under stress. Instead of calmly shooting targets at the range, try doing jumping jacks until you\u2019re out of breath and then see how accurate you are. Try telling your family members that any one of them can call a fire drill at any time so you\u2019re surprised too. Look for ways to force yourself to practice doing what needs to be done when you\u2019re afraid, tired, or caught off guard.<\/p>\n

Situational Awareness Increases Survival Chances<\/h2>\n

Situational awareness<\/a> is another skill you need to learn and practice. Part of being prepared for anything means understanding how and when your environment could change, and already understanding what those changes might look like and how you may need to respond to them.<\/p>\n

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This U.S. soldier conducts a training patrol in Columbia during Exercise Southern Vanguard \u201923. Image: Sgt. R.J. Lannom Jr.\/U.S. Army<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can get your family involved too \u2014 make it a game. Look around; notice things that are \u201coff\u201d or seem out of place for the location, activity, or time of day. A man wearing a heavy coat in summertime, a woman furtively glancing around, or even your child being watched too closely by someone across a room are just a few examples of things that you should not miss going on around you.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pay attention to people and what they\u2019re doing, or what they\u2019re looking at. There is literally an entire world out there and being able to notice what\u2019s going on in it is critical to staying safe and prepared. That holds true whether you\u2019re in a noisy mall with thousands of other people or the only person in the middle of a silent forest.<\/p>\n

Thinking Positively \u2014 Optimism and Hope<\/h2>\n

There is a lot of fluff out there about positive thinking, but in a survival situation, it can truly save your life. If you\u2019re feeling sorry for yourself because you\u2019re lost, or cold and wet, or in an unpleasant and even dangerous situation, that\u2019s what you\u2019ll focus on \u2014 not using the tools or skills you have that can keep you alive.<\/p>\n

You have to maintain a positive attitude. In many ways, it is the cornerstone to mental strength. Your attitude directly impacts our ability to survive and how we approach survival training. In the psychology of survival, it is more important to develop mental resilience than physical strength \u2014 and we know that strength is important!<\/p>\n

We humans can talk ourselves into (or out of) anything; that includes being able to talk ourselves into giving up. Instead, practice using your powers of self-persuasion to control your fears, recognize fatigue, understand your situation, and focus on what needs to be done to make it out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Your brain truly is the best survival tool you have. Train it, use it, survive with it. It affects your ability to survive. Being mentally tough increases your chances of survival!<\/p>\n

Join the Discussion<\/span><\/h5>\n

Go to forum thread<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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By Kit Perez It has been said that in combat the mind is the weapon while the gun is merely the tool. Much can be said about non-combat survival situations. In these cases, mental toughness is often your best shot at making it. Any quick Google search can bring up thousands of articles and tips […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1952,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1951\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}