I am sorry about the long rant, but once in a while we all need to share some thoughts / points/ observations etc. The whole point of a forum I guess.
When the SHTF, how well you walk
OUT of that situation depends entirely on how well you walk
IN to that situation. I am constantly amazed at how I see people get into a bad situation with nothing and walk out of it totally unharmed, while others have tons of stuff and get killed . Sometimes I think walking into The S*** with the right state of mind is better than all the gear in the world. As such I have my own way of thinking when it comes to keeping my ass alive. Everyone will have their own ways, but these guidelines have proven effective for me. I figured a forum is the best place to share my thoughts and ramblings.
I think survival is survival, plain and simple. It matters not to the grim reaper if you are a soldier or a mountain climber. Death can come anywhere at any time, but there are a lot of ways we can give him the slip (temporarily at least) just by being prepared to face a bad situation. Once the reaper realizes you are determined to live he may move on to easier prey. I think your mental state and how you react will be a greater asset to you than any PSK could ever hope to be. The PSK or any other gear you have is just another tool to ASSIST you along the way. (A great tool to have, but a tool all the same) I have no fancy survival acronyms or the like, but these words, phrases and sentences have been engraved into my way of thinking for as long as I can remember. They have served me well. For the purpose of my rant here I will try to be as non Military and as generic to survival as I can.
PLANNING- before you do anything that puts you in harm’s way, make a plan. Be it a short road trip to visit friends or a mission BEL in a far away land, treat it in the same way. Tell people where you are going, when you should arrive and what to do if you don’t. Before you make your plan ask yourself 3 questions:
1. what is the BEST thing that can happen?
2. What is the WORST thing that can happen?
And 3. What is MOST LIKELY to happen?
Make your plan according to those guidelines’. A British E.O.D Exchange instructor once told me this and it has been some of the greatest advice I have ever carried with me.
FLEXIBILITY- Make a plan A, then a plan B, and then allow enough flex in your plan to make a plan C on the fly. If it calls for sunny skies all weekend, take a rain jacket and stuff it in your bag anyway. If you don’t, it will rain. Even the best and most well thought out plans will change. This is beyond our control. Don’t get discouraged by it but rather accept a change in plans as something that will take place most times. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best as they say. A lot of time your plan C will be better than plan A was anyway.
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS – One of my biggest concerns. Pay attention to what is going on around you. On a mission, a road trip, in heavy traffic, at a concert or wherever you are there is a whole world or trouble you can avoid if you take a second or two and LOOK at what’s around you. Think I am kidding? The next time you sit to watch a movie in a theatre with your wife, a friend or whoever ,ask them to close their eyes. Now ask them how many emergency exits there are, and where the closest one to you is. How many isles down? If the power goes out, a fire or any other emergency takes place the 10 seconds it takes to find out the answers these simple questions may be all you need to save your life. You will be amazed at how many people won’t know, and further amazed at how many people won’t care. Once you get used to this way of thinking it will come second nature to you and you will always do it subconsciously. To further add, always try and keep track of directions (NORTH) even when just traveling to a store you have never been to. When out and about Keep prominent landmarks in the back of your mind and which direction they are from where you are.(rivers, lakes, roads etc) If something goes wrong at least you will be able to say: “North is that way and there was a road somewhere to the east about 5 k”. That’s better than nothing. BE AWARE of things that don’t look right. Don’t walk down a dark alleyway if you can easily walk around it, and so on. In short, take two steps back and look at the big picture and what part you are playing in it.
TIME APPRICIATION – Taken out of Military jargon. Simply put it means to give yourself enough time to complete a task. It ties in with planning. If you are in a constant rush to get to work, maybe you should leave 10 minutes earlier. Your chances of avoiding a car accident have just gone up considerably. Your SITUATIONAL AWARNESS goes out the window when you are in a panic not to be late. Like I said before, survival is survival. Being pinned down by mortar fire is no less a threat to survival than a car accident, both will kill you . In my life I have experienced both and I was no more or less in danger of being killed by either. Many things in life are FAR beyond our control. But keep in mind that many things are.
GEAR –A very sensitive topic here. These are my thoughts on gear. Gear is great to have but NEVER rely on it too much. Often you will hear people say “this is a piece of gear I would bet my life on” That’s fine. There is nothing wrong with carrying a piece of quality gear to ASSIST you in a survival situation but…………….gear will eventually fail. Your spirit will only fail if you let it. You can snap a knife, lose your lighter, tear a hole in your waterproof jacket or use your last match but if you are determined to make it out of your current situation you will. Only YOU have the power to allow your will break. No gear you get on sale will ever replace SKILL, ever. I try my best to train with as little as possible and to treat everything I have extra as a bonus. I make no claim to be good at this as I will constantly meet someone who will leave me in total awe with what they know or with what they can do. My father is the best outdoorsman I have ever seen, bar none. He barely carries anything in the field. When hunting together I am constantly amazed that he can do the things he does in the woods with the meager supplies he DECIDES to take. He could take more stuff, he simply doesn’t need it. Even with all my training and all the scrapes I have managed to get myself into I will never reach the same level of ability as him. The funny thing is, that is what he says about his father as well. Now don’t get me wrong. I am not saying you should carry nothing with you. I am simply saying that you should bet your life on your skills/training and not on what’s in your pack, that all. Keep in mind that people have done far more with much less than we carry now.
CONFIDENCE – Train, practice and build it as high as possible. I am at a stage in my training that I am very confident in my skill and abilities. But don’t ever get overconfident. I am smart enough to know not to push my luck. Know your limits. Put yourself in a stressful situation once in a while and you will feel better after having achieved something. Start out small and build up to bigger things. Get good at using your GEAR and then practice making do without it. Good PLANNING, AWARENESS and SKILLs will boost your confidence through the roof. Don’t let anyone ever tell you that something can’t be done.
FITNESS- your brain is the sharpest tool some say, but keep in mind that you brain is carried around by your body. You don’t need to be a marathon runner by any means, but you won’t do very well in a bad situation if you can’t keep your wind. Train your body to assist your situation. There are no bad points about being fit, in any situation. The fitter you are, the better you will be able to cope with stress, fatigue, hunger and so on.
I guess I will stop there. I could go on but I have been flapping my gums long enough. I try to incorporate these points into all my daily activities no matter if I am home, or in a place where I wish I could be. In the end, we all have a system or state of mind which we will fall back on in times of emergency. What I have said is what has kept me alive through some hairy s***, But to each his own. So far the reaper has missed his chance. I apologize if I am appearing all sentimental but after some of the stuff I have went through lately it makes anyone think like that at times. It is nice to type out your thoughts even if no one else shares your point of view. The one thing we all share on this forum is the love of life. That’s why we try and survive tough situations without giving up. There is simply too much to lose. God above (or whoever you choose to believe is up there) has given you only one life to use so be equip and prepared to protect it with all the tools available to you. Just don’t lose sight of the forest for the trees. Surviving is good, but LIVING is even better. Get out there and do those things which make life wonderful and worth surviving.
Take care friends
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