Your single most important asset in a crisis is that gray lump that rests between your ears. The survival mindset is something everyone should develop and hone. There are several aspects of it to understand. Let’s look at just a few of them.
Positive Thinking
The survival mindset is critical because the body will follow the mind. Time and again, we’ve found that our minds can do some pretty interesting things. When the chips are down, you need to repeat to yourself that you’re going to succeed. Make this a habit every time you encounter a bad situation.
Remember that you’ve successfully overcome every single bad day so far. Don’t dwell on negative experiences. Focus on the fact that you were strong enough to overcome them.
Confidence vs. Arrogance
A big part of the survival mindset is confidence. You have to believe, down to a molecular level, that you will come out on top when all is said and done. That confidence comes from learning and practicing skills over a long period of time.
However, while confidence can keep you alive, arrogance can get you killed. If you get too cocky, you might not recognize when you make mistakes, which can spiral into complete failure if left unchecked.
Strength of Will
This part of the survival mindset is related to confidence. It’s a single-minded determination that you will overcome any and all obstacles and do whatever it takes to make it home safely. This isn’t easy. Frustration, depression, and even guilt can eat away at you and be distractions.
What might work is to make a deal with yourself that you’ll deal with those feelings after you’ve survived and returned to whatever passes for a normal life. For the time being, though, it gets buried.
Sense of Humor
Once upon a time, I spent several years working in the security field. Something I learned early was that humor can be an effective tool for reducing stress. In a tense situation, if I could get the other person to at least crack a smile, if not chuckle, it would go a long way toward defusing things.
This works on a personal level, too. Laugh at your mistakes. Learn from them, absolutely, but don’t let them drag you down.
Compartmentalize
Remember the old line about how to eat an elephant? You do it one bite at a time. Part of the survival mindset is to understand the importance of compartmentalizing. You can’t do everything at once.
Instead of running around in circles, break it down into manageable chunks. Prioritize based on the situation at hand, then take it step by step.
Adaptability
This is an aspect of the survival mindset that people tend to either embrace wholeheartedly or struggle with immensely. Not everything goes according to plan. Being flexible is crucial. Learn how to improvise, how to think on your feet, and how to adapt to the situation as it develops.
If you fall apart the first time something goes awry, this is an area you need to work on further. Develop your survival mindset. Do everything you can to be hard to kill.
