Photo by Esther Tuttle on Unsplash
How to maximise your chances of survival
“Sometimes even to live is an act of courage.”
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Do you think you have what it takes to survive? Imagine this scenario: You are lost in the bush, it’s starting to get dark, you have no food, no water and have hurt your ankle. Morale is low, your phone is dead and there’s no reception out here anyway. What would you do to survive the night, and potentially the many days and nights that follow?
People have overcome much worse, like Juliane Koepcke who survived a plane crash when she was just a teenager, falling two miles still strapped to her plane seat, into the Peruvian jungle. Or Steven Callahan, who spent 76 days adrift at sea aboard an inflatable life raft. Their stories, alongside many others, have elements of these key themes, with number one being surprisingly simple!
1. The ‘will to live’
You can have all the equipment and know-how in the world, but if you don’t have the grit and determination that you are going to make it, you probably won’t. People have sadly perished because they simply gave up hope. You need to keep that fire inside you going with the will to live — because you can, and you must!
2. Knowledge is power
This couldn’t be more true in a survival situation. If you know the environment around you, for example how to keep warm (or cool), acquire water and make it safe to drink, protect yourself from the elements and sustain yourself with the knowledge of the plants and animals around you (or what to avoid!) then you’re more than halfway there.
3. Preparation — if you fail to plan, you plan to fail
It pays to be prepared for the worst, but hope for the best. This is especially true when facing a potentially life-threatening situation like unexpectedly having to stay overnight in the bush, with no supplies, no shelter and the temperature is dropping by the minute. If you have let someone at home know where you are going and when to expect you back, brought a first aid kit with you, and have your kit (equipment) with you then you are less likely to be in a ‘survival situation’ and more likely just an ‘inconvenient and uncomfortable’ one.
These three things may sound easy, but they encompass what it really takes to get through most, if not any, tough situation. And these don’t have to be applied to your typical ‘survival’ scenario. You can take these 3 key points and apply them to ‘surviving’ any tough aspect of your life — whether that be a tough period at work, school or relationships.
Conculsion
With knowledge, preparation and the sheer will to live, many people have made it through extreme situations and lived to tell the tale.
