Your brain is your most valuable asset in a survival situation. It isn’t always the physically strong who are the most effective or better at handling fear in an emergency. Survival more often depends on the individual’s reactions to stress than upon the danger, or nature of the emergency. To adapt is to live. The ability to think and adapt is much more important than physical skills in survival situations. A person’s reaction to survival situations can often make them unable or unwilling to utilize their available resources. You most likely won’t use your physical skills if you don’t have a positive attitude.
Attitude is most certainly the most important ingredient of survival. With the proper attitude almost anything is possible. To make it through, a strong will or determination to live is needed. The mind has the power to will the body to extraordinary feats. Records have shown that will alone has often been the major factor for surviving emergencies. Without the will to live survival is impossible. Survival is possible in most situations but attitude and imagination are critical (some knowledge is also helpful). People can be very brave and resourceful in emergency situations. The mind is a very powerful force. It has control of the body, its actions, and its reasoning. What affects you mentally affects you physically. If you think that you can’t survive, then you won’t try to survive. A commitment or goal to live, refusal to give up, and positive mental attitude greatly increase your chances for survival.
When placed in an unexpected survival situation you will be forced to rely upon your own resources; improvising and solving problems for yourself. If you want to survive then you must ultimately decide to take care of yourself and not count on others to help you. You must continually work towards the goal of survival. Never give up the will to live, without the will to live those in an emergency survival situation will likely give up and die.
While in a survival situation you will be confronted with many problems. Your mind will be your best asset but it could also be your worst enemy. You will have to face negative thoughts and also master your fears. You will need to shift mental processes and adopt a “can do attitude”. You will need to be creative and use your ability to improvise to adapt to the situation. Work with nature instead of against it. It is important to consider your safety at all times. If you analyze what you need it will be easier to survive against known enemies than if you are fighting something unknown. Loneliness, fatigue, pain, weather conditions, hunger, thirst, and fear are your major enemies in any survival situation.
Always remember to keep a positive mental attitude. Don’t fall into the trap of self-pity or hopelessness. Remember what is important to you in your life and don’t let the image fade. Most people have experienced loneliness, fatigue, pain, bad weather conditions, hunger, thirst, and fear before, but have not had to face them all at once Any one of them can diminish your self-confidence and reduce your desire to live. All of these are normal but are more severe and dangerous in survival situations. By learning to identify them you will be able to control them instead of letting them control you.