We've been over the ten (fifteen?) essentials numerous times. Most people could probably recite them in their sleep. Everyone knows how to put together a solid survival kit, perhaps weaker in some areas then others but all basically functional to one degree or another. But what would you say are the ten essential skills for survival? What about habits? If survival is 95% mental, what are the mental tools everyone should have in their "kit"?

The will to survive

Being able to improvise. Not only a skill you need in an emergency but one that helps in every day life too. It's interesting to me the people who don't have this skill.

A healthy recognition that things can go wrong, and the fortitude to take reasonable measures against such events.

A thick enough skin to brush off people who aren't capable of the above.

The ability to see materials, natural and man-made, for what they can be, not what they were manufactured to be.

An innate curiosity about how things work -- machinery, energy converters, animals, ecosystems, crowds.

Just off the top of my head:

Good situational awareness
navigation
Basic meteorology
Good "woodcraft"
First aid
Mental toughness
Emotional resiliance
A strong will to survive
good judgment
knowledge of one's vehicle, equipment and kit, including repair and maintenance
A keen eye for impending trouble
good planning skills
Ability to work with others as both a leader and as a follower
. . .

Jeff

I have one that never gets said, but I think it would help tremendously: A love of the natural world. If you're the type of person who truly enjoys nature and can appreciate its qualities, then I think you would be much more calm while stuck in it. Indeed, you may not even want to use the word "stuck" but instead consider it an unplanned vacation.

Know Thyself.

Practice forgiving yourself by facing and embracing your errors and weaknesses so you can move forward with a clear eye and mind - without dragging the anchors of regret and doubt. When others try to send you on guilt trips by accusing you of errors and weaknesses, just look them in the eye and say, "And proud of it!"

Cody Lundin talked about having a Wayne's World-style "Party On!" mentality in "98.6 Degrees". No matter what obstacle was facing you, he wrote, you've just got to have a go-get-'em "Party On" attitude and just keep hoofing forward.

I admit though, that's a LOT easier said than done. And I doubt I could give a war-cry of "Party On!" if, say, I've just broken my arm. I'd probably cry out a stream of expletives first.

I can NEVER go wrong with the things my late stepfather always taught me, though, which include the following...

Keep things clean and in working order, including your tools, your work area, and yourself.

Keep your eyes open and be aware of what's going on.

Everything you do is a learning experience. The more information you take and keep in your brain, the better off you are.

Go with what your gut tells you when making an important decision. If one of the choices feels wrong, it most likely is.

Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales is a great resourse for that question.

As far as actual hands-on skills go, off the top of my head:

Firecraft
Knifework
Knife sharpening
Knots
Map & Compass nav
Water purification
First Aid
Shelter building
Signalling (have you practiced with your signal mirror?)
Sewing

Experience on how to dress & regulate layers to stay warm/dry/cool. Be in the habit of drinking often to stay hydrated. Know the signs of hypothermia/frostbite/heatstroke.

Be willing and able to change your original plans, maybe several times, when you recognize that the game isn't going the way you thought it was. New facts, new conditions, or unplanned results of previous decisions (good or bad), are going to change the whole game. Insisting on slogging onward, following the original plan when it's gone bad, is not a good idea. (i.e., like when the GPS says 'Go forward' when you're posed at the edge of a cliff.)

Learn to stop when you're lost. Don't keep going and get more lost.

If you're with a group, someone else may make themselves leader. Don't blindly follow them without consideration. Like your mother always said: "If they jumped off a cliff, would you do it, too?"

Ladies, that means YOU, too! Just because the guy is a guy doesn't mean he knows what is best. YOU have a brain, so be sure to use it. (Whispers: The vast majority of Darwin Award winners and nominees are male. Remember that!)

Sue.......................... Who, ME?

Well said! Stubbern persistance in the face of changing circumstances is often a recipe for disaster.

Jeff

in my neck of the North Woods--pines and lakes--i would say
the ability to get a good fire going in any weather is #1..
then a shelter to get of the weather which can turn cold and
wet even in the summer..and of course all the "don't panic"
mine-set stuff..

Everyone else is so close to what I'd say that you don't need me mucking it up - but I will.

Laurence Gonzales' book. Read it, learn it, live it. Read it well enough so that you can remember the lessons of other survivors, because their strengths were almost always mental. The book has lots of good insights into the psychology of survival, you can read it and be convinced that you have what it takes to survive too.

Know approximately where you are, always. That goes for during air travel as well. Between that and the north star, you'll never be entirely lost, just on extended walkabout.

Have a definite mental picture of your survival, whether it is hours or days or weeks away, and how you will help to make it happen. Don't doubt yourself too much. Keep your focus positive, and on the here and now as much as possible. One day, one moment at a time.

Concentrate on the basics - shelter, warmth (protection from the elements), water, food. Increase the odds of rescue by as many signalling methods as you can devise.

The ability to improvise, and adapt. The ability to change plans when the original plan doesn't work out the way you thought.

The ability to listen to others, as well as to lead, to the best of your ability. The ability to tell others when you don't know what to do, to seek counsel, but the will to act on good advice quickly. The life you save could be your own. I firmly believe that outdoor leadership isn't a matter of bringing every one along with you, power of will is for suckers and dead people; its keeping everyone with you alive, whether they choose to follow you or not.

Know your limitations. Stay within your training, except in moments of extreme danger when the safe path would get you or someone you are with killed.

Make mistakes. Learn from them, and move on.

Always tell a loved one of your plans, and when you will report in.

Keep a PLB by your side, and most often the rest of this won't factor in for too long. Its the best $500-600 you never spent on that fancy sleeping bag or tent instead.

Oh, forgot the most important one. Think of your loved ones. If they're not there with you in body, they will definitely be there in spirit, they want you home. Gonzales speaks of this as motivation to survive, to see your child or nephew or spouse's smile just one more time. I hope everyone has such a powerful motivation.

I gotta get that book. Been meaning to . . .

Jeff

Few excuses left - I saw it in paperback the other day.

the ability to break things down to it's basic actions. (you don't need a knife to cut something, a sharp rock will work. a vine will tie up something just like a rope or twine.) Your brain use it.

Ignore/work thru adversity...

Bah! You're all nuts. You just need to be a smooth-talking schmoozer. If you can't figure something out, you can talk someone into either teaching your or giving it to you. That's right, baby, better survival through conning others!

I have recently watched a Massad Ayoob video on surviving gunfights. He said the keys to this are:

Awareness
Tactics
Skill
Equipment

My own little rules for the day are:

Keep your head
Stay focused
Anticipate what is likely to happen so as to be better prepared.

So I started this out thinking more or less of specific skills that a person should be able to do, but of course the mental side of survival isn't nearly that simple. So what I've kind of come to after reading everyone's posts is there are three rough (and someone overlapping) categories of mental survival skills: mindsets, habits and skills/techniques. I came up with five mindsets and habits and ten skills.

Mindsets:
Face adversity with a can do attitude
Think of your family/love ones and fight to get back to them or keep them alive
Love of the natural world (at least for wilderness survival)
Willingness to learn from mistakes
Keep your head in an emergency (or apparent emergency) and listen to input (even from people you don't necessarily like)

Habits (some of these are also skills, but ones you need to practice constantly):
Cleanliness and organization
Plan
Question everything
Observe
Curiosity

Skills/techniques (these are just the end states, for many I think you should have at least two techniques to achieve the end):
Fire
Meteorology
First Aid
Navigation
Stay warm
Cook
Purify Water/Obtain water
Sew/repair/sharpen
Build shelter
Signal

The skills at least mirror the ten essentials pretty well. Not completely, but basically the same. The skills are also geared toward wilderness survival, but I think they're more or less useful anywhere.

"...A fit and conditioned body is better able to cope with cold, fatigue and pain..."

I am gonna be in a world of hurt!!!

MD must have seen the movie "King Rat"..

A sense of humor.

This may sound glib and superficial but it does several things:

1) Stress reducer both yours and others around you.

2) Requires paying attention (if you aren't paying attention, you're going to miss a good joke opportunity and the snake you're about to step on).

3) Requires looking at things a little differently which opens up opportunities (the "hey that rock looks like my mother-in-law" may actually draw your attention to spring trickling out from under it)


I remember a Magnum PI episode where he was stranded out at sea and had a shark circling him. He gave the shark a name and talked to it (which to me watching the show as a adolescent was funny as hell).

I've used that tactic with my daughter for the "monsters under the bed" when she was little. I had her picture the monster wearing something funny ( a pink tu-tu), and make it clean up her room (that monster always did a lousy job at cleaning).

And here I was, thinking that you were calling your daughter a shark... till I finished that sentence.

PMA = Positive Mental Attitude - often the difference between life and death.

Also, cultivating a Zen Mind, or beginner's mind so you don't rule out the infinite possibilities.

Survival equipment is stuff that if used properly can aid in promoting survival.

Survival techniques are those tasks that, when done properly, result in beneficial outcomes intended to promote survival.

Survival skills are knowing how and when to use the equipment and techniques to generate the desired outcome.

Survival mentality accepting that facing a difficult situation is inevitable, and adequately preparing for the potential that all the above will be necessary, and taking the time to acquire the equipment, learn the techniques, and develop the skills so that when the time comes, we are equipped and ready, both mentally and physically to accomplish the objective, which is to survive.

Survival skills, in their order of importance to me, are as follows:

1. Planning ahead

2. Identifying equipment and techniques that provide the best chance of success.

3. Recognizing value for money.

4. Networking, studying the subject matter continously, and regular practice.

5. Staying fit enough to endure.

Those are the top five, anyways.

Ditto!


(though I am working on it slowly and painfully)

This is something my dad, says, "There are no survival skills, just life skills." He uses this in relation to lots of things, but I tend to think about it with respect to cooking. But when I was in high school, I was thoroughly annoyed that my economics class was mostly concerned with nations and wide sweeping theory rather then how to calculate compound interest on a car loan or balance a check book. These are truly life skills and I think at least half the semester should have been spent on it. Instead all we learned was Keynesian theory. Big deal, I'll never be leader of the World Bank, but I definitely will have a check book and credit card and probably a car and house loan.

I'd like to take a class in Logic, have wanted to for years. My old man says he took one back in the day and it really changes how you approach things. And it could be useful from a survival perspective, because often logic becomes blurred... especially if you use a car GPS, apparently.

On the other hand, my employer says I am too logical, but I think thats because I keep winning arguments. Its basically like saying "begone!" but only slightly less annoying.

Some training in the skills necessary - at least read a book, even better to have tried out some of it before the emergency. Firestarting comes to mind.

EDIT- wrong thread. dunno how that happened.