Introduction to Survival

Originally published at Women Not Dabbling by emphelan

I have been giving this week’s topic suggestion great thought. I kept thinking that I really don’t do anything that is “alternative” besides the whole homesteading gig. The other ladies here seem to have specialized “alternatives”, while I am running around like a chicken with its head chopped off. Dressing out your own birds! No, no, that would be a topic for livestock. But what, in my arsenal of eclectic knowledge, can I share with you that would be a tad more personal, more specialized. . . Survival.

Because of my sketchy past, I have learned to adapt and survive in many different climates, landscapes and situations, without resorting to female desperation (feel free to read that as whorin’). So I came to the same conclusion as you are now forming, I will write a series, every 3rd week, on Survival. This will not be an at home preparedness class. We already have a wonderful post on that subject. This will be about what you should do if things do not get better after your home supplies run out, what you should do if you are lost, kidnapped and released, and city survival. Call it the Mad Max way to homesteading.

Let us discuss attitude in today’s lesson. I learned very quickly that how you look at your situation will determine the quality of your survival. We are very intelligent beings, and when you are lost, or the world has ended as we know it, keeping your chin up will help immensely. Fear and panic will be your first emotion, weather you are alone in the mountains, or isolated with family on an open plains. And it will be overwhelming. This is normal, and fear can be a good assets, as long as you control it. If you are alone, talk out loud to yourself, or sing a calming tune. You want to be calm and be able to think clearly, so not to go running blindly through the world. Step back, take a deep breath, and look at your surroundings. Acknowledge that you indeed have a problem, then think about what your immediate needs are, then plan action before taking it. You will need to form a mindset of the here and now, not something that might be too far in the future to accomplish. Your immediate needs will be different in each situation, but remember survival, not being found, is your priority. Finding your way home, will come as long as you take steps to achieve it.

One of the ways to keep your mind in the now, is to explore your surrounding, curiosity is a great survival skill, as long as you don’t taste everything you come across. I really don’t think Mr. Grizzly bear would like you to lick him. Curiosity and exploration will help you find some comfort in your new surroundings, just like it did on your first day of school. This will also keep you doing something, keeping your mind clear and your mouth from complaining. There is little use in complaining in these situation, you need to do something to make you complaint more tolerable.

You can practice your attitude in your comfortable world, before anything untold might happen to you. Go without something you think you need for a week. Live with some discomfort by turning off your heater for a day. If you are faced with a problem, write down your reaction to it and see if your are a complainer or a problem solver. Don’t beat yourself up over your reaction, instead sit down and write out the problem and ways to solve it, and how you would rather react to it. If you act out the reaction you’d rather have, it will soon become second nature to you. The same goes for getting sick. If you can make it through the illness without complaint, you are on your way to the mindset of a survivalist.

Attitude will be the most important ability that you will have. And working on it now, will not only help you if you ever disappear, but will help you in your daily life. What is life but a series of survival tests.

About these ads