Survival is not just about what you have with you. Physical items can be lost or broken, but the mind can endure a whole lot more than your possessions can. When your situation looks completely hopeless, it can be so easy to just give up. However, with enough mental resilience you can survive anything. (Related: Survival is about more than gear and food storage: Your team and mindset are crucial.)
Having a positive mental attitude is a necessity in the face of adversity. If you are a pessimist, you will likely focus too much on the bad side of the situation. This can easily make you feel overwhelmed as the challenges you face will seem insurmountable. If you can think positively, it can keep you grounded and you can focus on the advantages you do have at hand. These advantages, whatever they may be, are things that you should not quickly take for granted.
When SHTF, sometimes will power can be the only thing standing between the decision to be a survivor or a helpless victim. If your situation is bleak, will power can help you put in the needed effort to improve your situation. If you try to tackle your more difficult objectives before the easier ones, your will power will be able to sustain you for even longer.
Your body is only as prepared as your mind can ever be. If you don't take the time to care for the state of your mental health, then your body will likely show physical symptoms of your despair. At the same time, if you neglect your biological needs, your mental clarity will also suffer. It is important to take care of your body in order to take care of your mind, and vice versa.
Compartmentalizing is a common mental strategy that involves simplifying difficult or complicated objectives into smaller steps that are easier to handle one at a time. Having small, feasible objectives allows you to focus only on your immediate objective without overthinking. This makes it easier to face your challenges, no matter how difficult they may be.
Having a strong work ethic ensures that tasks that need to be done will get accomplished. It also helps prevent complacency. No matter what your situation is, it always be alert and make constructive use of your time.
Impermanence means that your situation can and will change. Adaptability means that you can change along with it. If you can tell yourself that this hardship will eventually end, then you can begin to focus on improving yourself and your situation.
You should be able to ask yourself "What is the point of all this?" or "What am I surviving for?" If you have a positive mental attitude, you can clearly assess your priorities. Your purpose should be the answer of why it is so important for you to survive.
If you want to learn more about other ways to survive when SHTF, you can read more articles by going to Survival.news.
Sources include: