When you’re in a survival situation, what’s the most important thing? Is it your fire-making ability, your shelter-building ability, your hunting skills?

Photo by R.D. Smith on Unsplash

This might surprise you (unless you read the title of the post): it’s your mindset.

It’s worth repeating: the most important thing in a survival situation is your mindset.

Of course some people might disagree, and that’s okay. I’ve heard that you can last three minutes in bad weather with no shelter, three days without water, and three weeks without food, so of course it makes sense to prioritize building a shelter, getting a fire going, and finding water – those are super important too.

But if you just sit down and give up, it doesn’t matter that you can build the world’s greatest shelter or get a fire going with a gum wrapper and a prayer. The battle is over before it begins. Your mindset is critical to your survival.

Now, some people are naturally resilient. No matter what the world throws at them, they’re able to bounce back, make the most of it, and go about their lives.

I…am not one of those people. I tend to take the big things pretty well in stride, but I definitely overreact to the little things. It’s not my finest quality, so I try to work on it.

That’s where mindfulness comes in.

“Wait a second,” you say. “What’s this hippy-dippy crap she’s throwing at us? I have to sit on a cushion and hum for an hour?”

Well, not exactly. (Although if you want to, go for it!) The kind of mindfulness I’m talking about really boils down to a focused effort to be in the present moment. Usually this does involve some breathing and stillness, but I find that a 10-minute guided mindfulness meditation does me a world of good – it doesn’t take hours.

You can start to get some of the benefits of mindfulness just by focusing on your breathing. To try this, sit with your back straight and the rest of your body relaxed, kind of hanging off your spine. You can sit in a chair or on a cushion, whatever’s comfortable for you – I also like to meditate lying down, even though I’m sure it’s frowned upon by some! Close your eyes, and take a few deep breaths, stretching up on the inhale and relaxing your forehead, eyes, jaw, and shoulders with each exhale. Focus on the feeling of the breath going in and out of your nostrils. Then open your eyes and see if you’re slightly better equipped to handle whatever challenge you’re facing.

If you can create a little space when you’re super stressed to try this, I think you’ll start to feel the benefits. There have been tons of scientific studies on the benefits of mindfulness, so you don’t have to take my word for it – do a little research on the internet and see for yourself if it’s something you might like to try.

If you want to go further, consider a guided meditation app. I love the Calm app, but there are lots of popular options out there, so look for one that fits your interest and your budget. The apps give you prompts or things to focus on while you’re breathing, which is really helpful for me because I get bored super easily, but with a guided meditation I always have something to focus on.

Maybe this isn’t what you expected from a survival blog, and don’t worry – I have plenty of other posts focused on the gear and the mechanics of prepping, so please feel free to poke around. But hopefully this will resonate with some people and give them another tool in their survival toolbox, so that they’ll be more mentally prepared in the next stressful situation they face.