I have to say that on a personal note, I am in survival mode all the time. I can compare it to our national threat awareness system. I have always felt it be important to be prepared (as do the rest of you in the forum). Just by being prepared, we are already in the "mode". As I move about my day, if something that comes up that is not in the norm - then my level escalates accordingly. If it a minor problem then it is dealt with as such. If it is a major/serious problem then my leven can jump dramatically. For those that are not prepared, then they have to go from not prepared to survival mode. It is a mind set that people are either in on they are not. Just by asking the question - you are in the mode. If you know you are going to a place (mentally, physically or environmentally) I would gather that most of us would plan accordingly (winter conditions = warm cloths, possibility of getting stuck, mechanical problems etc...). In summary, I would say that I am constantly in a state of survival mode, it just depends at what level it progresses to. That way I don't have to make that "jump"
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A government big enough to give you everything you want,
is strong enough to take everything you have.
Thomas Jefferson