Surviving any disaster or crisis involves making material preparation to ensure that your physical needs are met, but it also involves getting the mind ready as well. The more you can do to prepare for the stress, uncertainty, fear and physical demands of being in survival mode will ease the pressures that you will encounter once that day comes. This is something that is of paramount importance, but often overlooked as people emphasize the need to get their supplies and plans in order. Don’t neglect the needs of your body as well as the need to keep your mind sharp, because this is what you are ultimately protecting at the end of the day.
You don’t need to be a genius or have a gym body to be in a condition to weather the storms of fending for yourself, but the more you get your body and mind into the game now will go a long way with helping you play it well when the time comes. As you look at your strategies and develop your contingency plans for how you will act during various scenarios, make sure you think of how you can prepare yourself as well.
Airlines pilots train throughout the year to deal with emergencies that they will most likely encounter in flight. Dealing with engine and equipment failures, what to do in storms and how to manage threats are drilled over and over again in simulators to keep pilots sharp and prepared. The aim of this practice is to teach them how to react with out thinking or worrying too much. This approach helps pilots to become detached from the emergency, think their way through the problem and almost automatically take corrective action. The end result is less fear and confusion, less errors in judgment and ultimate a safer outcome for everyone involved.
The more that you prepare your mind and body will also improve your chances of making good decisions when you are faced with the immediate and medium-term consequences of a crisis. The last thing you want to deal with is exhaustion, injury, mental anguish or other problems that could be minimized simply by taking a few steps now.
Staying in Shape
Staying in shape is not just about going to the gym or getting enough exercise and watching what you eat. It’s about conditioning your body and brain to react during a crisis without taking unnecessary chances. It’s about knowing what you will do, how it will feel and how much energy it will take to accomplish the task. Getting in shape helps you to know your body, your strengths as well as your limitations. It helps you to know what you are capable of accomplishing and how you can stretch yourself further when necessary.
Getting about 30 minutes of exercise every day, getting out into the woods and becoming familiar with what you can expect during a disaster will help you to go on auto-pilot when the time comes. Your body will be more agile, toned and able to meet the physical challenges that you may encounter. Most importantly, it will help your mind to focus on other important things instead of how you are going to get through the next few moments as you face a number of challenges.
Rehearse and Drill
Practice makes perfect, and you should run through various scenarios that you are planning to encounter. What makes you tired? What is your strength limit ? How confident are you with making split-second decisions and switching gears? Do you know how you will navigate through certain types of terrain or how you will get from point A to point B? How will you face stressful situations without losing control and making bad decisions? We all have to practice and walk through various simulated contingency plans in order to be ready for anything.
Drilling also helps you to have a better understanding of what it will take, where you will go to accomplish your goals. It will help you to think things through and weigh options, because you’ve already practiced for some of them. It will also help you when you are faced with a situation that you didn’t practice for as well, because your mind will already have a good foundation that can be called up in a time of crisis.
Improve Your Diet
The last thing you want to be is susceptible to illnesses and injuries while in survival mode. Most of what we eat in this country has very little nutritional value. We need lots of vitamins, minerals, proteins and amino acids in order for our bodies to properly function. Many illnesses that are creating epidemic health problems in this country stem from our diet. Start eating healthier now so that your body will already be loaded with nutritional goodness before disaster strikes. Your access to healthy and nutritious foods may be limited during a crisis, and your body will be able to rely on the good foundation that you have established to carry you through.
Keeping nutritional levels elevated will also go a long way with promoting sustained energy and mental acuity while also boosting the immune system. High and consistent nutrition levels fortify the immune system and often speed up recovery times after sustaining an injury or illness. Nutrition also promotes clearer thinking, better emotional regulation and a sense of well-being and confidence. It takes very little every day to get nutritional levels up, and now is the time to start preparing your body for the day of reckoning that you are planning for.
Get Your Addictions in Check
We all have habits that we are trying to kick, whether it’s smoking too much or taking a little bit more alcohol than we know is good for us. Remember that when you are dealing with a crisis, those addictions can severely impact our judgment and feelings. You need to be in control, be balanced and be in top condition to get through survival situations. The last thing you want is to be contending with withdrawal and the other issues associated with suddenly giving up a bad habit. Try and work out these issues now so that you can focus on the task at hand and get your body in gear. It only takes a couple of weeks to get out of a bad habit and into a new one. Bite the bullet and get your addictions under control now so they won’t be a factor later.
Go to the Dentist
Going to the dentist at the first sign of a problem will ensure that it is dealt with before you get hit with a toothache or infection during an emergency. The last thing you need is to deal with pulling an infected tooth or controlling blinding pain from an infection. Deal with these things now so that your teeth are in good shape and don’t become a liability that you have to face when you are simply trying to survive.
Only you know your body and what things you can do to improve your overall health and wellness. Just remember that access to medical attention during an emergency may be difficult or outright impossible. The more you are in shape now, the fewer problems you will encounter when the time comes. Start developing a regimen of exercise and healthier eating now. Not only will you feel better and reduce the risk of succumbing to one of a million health conditions, but you will be in a better position to meet the challenges of being in survival mode.
You need you strength and stamina. You need to think clearly and be able to bounce back from injuries. You can’t do this if your body is depleted of essential nutrients that become even more important during situations of prolonged stress and physical exertion. This is something that a lot of people let go in one ear and out the other, but getting and staying fit is an essential component to your overall health and well-being.
Spend a few minutes a day just getting some kind of exercise. Add to it until you are taking on more challenges and stretching your abilities. You will be amazed at how quickly you can turn your body and mind into a primed and prepared machine that can carry you through some of the most difficult challenges that you will ever face.
You, your family and friends will depend on your abilities when called into action, and you want to make sure that you are ready to lead, fight and accomplish the mission at hand. It is imperative that you spend time and effort to get yourself physically fit in addition to getting your practical and material preparation under way.
Stretch your level of endurance, learn how your body works, understand your limitations and keep making improvements. Now is the time to prepare, because you can just as easily get caught off-guard once an unexpected emergency arrives at your doorstep. Don’t take your heath and well-being for granted, because it will be come a necessary component to any survival strategy that you will devise.
