The base tier of the Preparedness Pyramid is a proper mindset, to create a solid base and attitude towards being prepared and training. Mindset is a set of beliefs or a way of thinking that determines one’s behavior, outlook and mental attitude. The ideas and attitudes with which a person approaches a difficult situation. A fixed mental attitude or disposition that predetermines a person’s responses to and interpretations of situations. Habits of the mind are formed by previous experience.
Two Main Types of Mindsets: Fixed and Growth.
Fixed Mindset – Intelligence is static, which leads to a desire to look smart and therefore a tendency to avoid challenges, give up easily, see effort as fruitless or worse, ignore useful negative feedback, feel threatened by the success of others. As a result, they may plateau early and achieve less than their full potential.
Growth Mindset – Intelligence can be developed, which leads to a desire to learn and therefore a tendency to embrace challenges, persist in the face of setbacks, see effort as the path to mastery, learn from criticism, find lessons and inspiration in the success of others. As a result, they reach ever-higher levels of achievement.
There are two subsets of the mindsets I want to discuss that are critical in being prepared; these are be part of the main ones above. Preferably, they are a part of the Growth Mindset versus the Fixed Mindset.
Tactical Mindset (Plans, Actions, Results, Tactics, Skills, SOP’s, Rehearsals, Awareness)
Tactical Mindset is a planned action to detect, disrupt, and destroy a threat. Therefore, if this mindset is a part of the Growth Mindset, it can adapt to and overcome most situations in a tactical scenario. It won’t let you hit that wall and give up even if all the odds seem to be against you. I believe most individuals that were awarded valor awards (Silver Star, DSC, MoH) for heroic actions during combat, have this type of mindset. They find themselves and their brothers in arms in a dire situation, so they find that “Path” and “Persist” against insurmountable odds to save lives and defeat the threat.
*Always have a plan; planning is preparing, preparing is surviving, surviving is success.
When you wake up and head out to commute to work, you plan which route you are going to take depending on traffic, weather, etc; what items to take with you; what clothing to wear; what to drive, etc. You don’t realize that you are “Planning” your trip to work but it becomes a routine or a SOP (Standard Operating Procedures). Things you always do, every day, every week. To enhance this routine for a tactical mindset, is to be aware of your surroundings (situational awareness) to detect a threat, especially in transitional spaces (elevators, parking garages, parking lots, gas stations, stairwells, etc). Gain the knowledge to understand the tactics to avoid threatening situations. Gain the skill sets to destroy that threat. Acquire gear to help disrupt an imminent threat. Understand the consequences to help you deal with the aftermath of the event.
Survival Mindset (common sense, stay calm, positive outlook, accept fear, Prepare your mind and self, Focal point)
Survival Mindset is the ability to “see” the plan through extreme conditions. Accept the fear; compartmentalize the dangers or results of the dangers in your mind so you can focus on the task at hand. It is also conditioning your mind to understand what can happen will happen, accepting it and maintaining a positive outlook throughout your ordeal. Some people do that through humor or having a “Focal Point” to focus on during the situation. In the situation where you are alone (a hard thing for most humans to do for a long periods of time), being stranded in a wilderness where it will be days for you to be found or walk your way to civilization. A key strategy is to stay busy with daily tasks, keep a notebook as a journal to record your locations, to sketch your area, record events, list tasks and note accomplishments. If you have a good focal point, like a loved one back home then focus on that while you are resting and remember good times and how you will reunite with them. Survival is as much a mental game as it is physical. It is enhanced with: Awareness, Preparation, and Rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal, which are also part of your tactical mindset.
Conclusion (endure, sustain, overcome, unite, maintain)
Having the correct mindset is the most important aspect to staying alive in a life-threatening situation. With the proper mindset, you can achieve anything. If you maintain a Growth Mindset with a Tactical and Survival sub mindset, you will more than likely be reunited with loved ones, endure austere conditions, and recover from extreme circumstances. Just remember to avoid these four things—fear, confusion, hesitation, and surprise. Having the ability to compartmentalize bad events is crucial.
There are plenty of catchy acronyms out there for people to use to help them remember to maintain the proper mindset and deal with a crisis.
Survival instructors use the acronym “STOP” which should be read in the following order: Stop/Sit, Think, Observe, Plan.
Stop/Sit: In a life-threatening survival situation like an accident in wilderness is always good to take a “Tactical Pause” and let your mind collect itself. Don’t Panic! Breathe and relax. Don’t let your mind run crazy with counterproductive thoughts. Conducting actions without thinking about the outcome or how the task needs to be accomplished is one of the most dangerous things to do right of way. You may find yourself “deeper in shit” so to speak. People tend to panic, thinking they must act quickly to the situation, which is not always the case especially in the wilderness. You need to begin to size up your situation and what gear you have on hand.
Think: Assess your situation, your location, and your gear on hand. Conduct that mental inventory of what you know you have on hand. If you have a notebook begin to write down these items, if you have a GPS write down your Grid location in MGRS/USNG or UTM and LAT/LON. If you have a radio, make a distress call in the blind (understanding no one may not be on the other end). But try to conserve battery life by turning it off after 15 minutes.
Observe: Look around your area. Gather supplies, water, and items for a shelter, other batteries, or radios. Move through the crash/accident site and see what you can see from different vantage points. If you are in a low ground versus a high ground, then try and determine which high ground might provide a better vantage point. You can use maps you have with you (hopefully you packed some in your vehicle or plane) or on your GPS. Again, remember to turn it off to conserve battery life. Also locate an open area that rescuers can find your “Ground to Air” signal. Right now, you are preparing to stay at your location for a period of time in case of rescue. With a vehicle/plane crash, the vehicles will have plenty of useful materials for shelter, signaling and construction. Observe the weather around you to help determine if there is a storm front coming through, so you can protect yourself from the elements and obtain water from the rain.
Plan: After you take stock of your situation, surroundings, and what gear you have on hand; begin to plan your stay, begin to construct a shelter to protect you from the environment, establish a fire for cooking and warmth, collect supplies from the crash/accident site and surrounding area. Make a task list to get your priorities accomplished, make a commo plan to transmit and listen in the blind at the top of the hour for 15 minutes if you have a radio, construct a visible ground to air signal at your crash/accident site and an open area nearby. If you decide to walk to a possible rescue area, plan your route out of the location along natural lines of drift as in a game trail or river that may lead into civilization and allow for water resupply, how you will carry supplies, what supplies you will need, don’t forget to bring signaling devices such as bright clothing, signal mirror, flares or flashlight. Remember they say to stay put for a better chance of survival, but that is location and situation dependent. If no one knows where you are traveling, hiking, or driving because you failed to leave a detailed vacation plan with a trusted family member or friend then it is unlikely that anyone will know your general location. If the location is so remote and vast that even if they had your general location, it might still be very difficult to locate your crash site. If you have good maps of the area, a working GPS, a radio, a survival kit that covers the 5 basic needs (shelter, water, fire, food, medical), if you have a good skill sets due to training and you are not injured; then walking out to a location that either enables your rescue or to find civilization (village, main road, main river, coastal area, etc.) is a good option.
A lot of you have heard of the “Rules of Threes”, another way to remember how to maintain your mindset to survive and endure.
• “3 SECONDS”— Panic or loss of hope.
Untrained or unprepared people tend to freeze in an emergency. When a life-threatening incident occurs like a plane or vehicle crash your mind goes into survival mode and tries to make sense of what has happen by locking onto something familiar. If your mind fails to do this, it will lock onto the actual event that has occurred and you begin to panic or be distressed and hopeless. You will find yourself unable to move and maybe staring at a certain spot or maybe your friend that has died in the accident. Some experts say you have 90 seconds to exit the wreckage of a plane crash. Of course, that is situation dependent, your injuries, others with your etc. But having the ability to decide based on thought is crucial in the beginnings of the incident. For instance, if it is on fire, your mind should be telling you to evacuate and help others get out. By using S.T.O.P. You can do a “quick” assessment of your immediate situation and determine if you need to evacuate, or you have time to exit the wreckage or area. This will help you avoid or to shake yourself out of that “frozen” stupor of the shock that occurs in a crash or incident.
• “3 MINUTES”— without air.
This one you see all the time and I would consider it “common Sense”, but remember common sense is not so common. Most relate this to being buried in a snow avalanche or being trapped under ground without plenty of air. These are both correct but for a survival type situation, I consider this step to relate more with relaxing and breathing to aid in your decision making versus being under water or similar environments. So sometimes you have to emphasis to people they need to breathe and relax. Your brain thrives on oxygen. Stay calm, assess, and decide what to do next. Take that “Tactical Pause” to prevent the panic from overcoming you and accept the situation.
• “3 HOURS”— without shelter.
One of the number one killers of people in survival situations is exposure to the elements. This should be a priority on your list after you tend to any life-threatening injuries. The first items you need to look for are shelter making materials and tools. Use that notebook to sketch out your immediate area after you complete your walk around assessment and note locations of items that will assist you. Remember your mind is trying to cope with an extreme situation and you will be surprised that you think you can remember where that item was located 20 minutes ago but can’t. You can also gather every item you come across and take it back to your shelter site, may take multiple trips. But assessing your situation systematically also helps your mind stay busy and organized the task at hand. If the conditions are extreme and the weather is bad, then you will need to find or create a shelter quickly, to include a fire if it is cold.
• “3 DAYS” — without water.
You may feel hungry, but your body can go weeks without food, especially if you are physically fit and not injured. But water is another concern; you need water to stay hydrated. Move around your area to locate suitable containers and/or locations that will provide water. Remember if you are high in the mountains then the likely of the water being bad is lessened since it is mostly unpopulated. But always try to filter and purify all water to prevent any bacterial or viral type of contaminant from causing sickness. Activity causes water loss in the body and creates thirst, so limit the strenuous activity at much as possible. Do tasks at a slow pace and if you choose to stay put, then you can make a schedule of daily tasks. Again, keeping your mind busy with the task at hand. If no water in the immediate area, plan on searching further out from your location for a stream, spring etc.
• “3 WEEKS”— without food.
Food provides nutrients and energy to our bodies so we can survive. Some can go further without food because of training or being in better shape. When it comes to food, conserve the bigger items like dehydrated meals for later. Eat smaller items like protein bars, granola bars, etc first. Since your body is healthier now then later, these will not harm or overload your system and will provide needed energy in the beginning. The larger meals like dehydrated backpack meals will be beneficial to you later because of the “normal” nutrients they have. Plus, they will be more filling to you both physically and mentally. Just keep in mind that they take water. Try to augment your food supplies by fishing or trapping / hunting small game.
• “3 MONTHS”— without human contact.
This is a hard thing to accomplish for most people over long term. Humans desire companionship naturally. Having someone to share the tasks, bounce off ideas, to help with decisions or just to talk to, is a crucial part of our existence. Knowing that someone has your back and will be there to take care of you if you become injured or sick is an immense mental security. Having someone with a strong faith or likeminded to help you stay positive and survive the situation.
Survival, especially over long term requires you to internalize your traits, skills, and training that will aid you to make it out alive. You need to understand these to understand yourself. Know yourself and seek self-improvement is standard in the military and directly related to a proper mindset to survive and endure.
• Commitment to Survive – Your mind is your first and most important tool in your tool chest when it comes to survival. It is tied to your Tactical and Survival Mindsets. Always be positive and stay focused at the task at hand.
• Curiosity and Inquisitiveness – Always maintain you desire to learn and discover how things work. It will hone your skills in a wide variety of tasks. Don’t be afraid to fail, through failure we learn more. We learn that certain ways don’t work, and others do. Keep an open mind to other techniques too. This is directly linked to a Growth Mindset.
• Sense of Humor – It is very important to take situations in stride. Use humor to lessen the impact of an incident. Laughter is a stress relief and acts as a mechanism to release pressure. If you keep the attitude “light” it will assist in keeping you above the dire situation. It makes it easier to compartmentalize the bad so you can focus on the good. It is linked to your Survival Mindset.
• Dealing with Uncertainty – Being uncertain in any situation is hard to deal with, but in a life-threatening event it makes it almost impossible for some people. You need to have the ability to think and make decisions to help you through adversity. You sometimes must trust that events will unfold because they need to, and you can’t stop them. Once something happens, you can assess and fine tune your activities to prevent further degrading your survival. Always strive to achieve your desired outcome. This trait is linked to your Survival Mindset and Tactical Mindset.
• Getting Over It – I have mentioned “compartmentalization” several times before; this is the technique to lock away bad memories or incidents to prevent from dwelling on them. You can’t waste time worrying over mistakes, but use that energy to adjust your techniques, or tasks to prevent another similar mistake. Don’t let disappointment set you back, learn from it. If something bad happens because of a poor decision, lock it away to deal with later. Always look forward and move on from these bad events. There will be plenty of time to deal with them at a time when all are safe. It is directly related to your Survival Mindset.
• Adaptive Capacity – Having the ability to adapt and overcome situations is a very important trait to have when it comes to survival. Having the proper mindset in certain situations enables you to take charge and control the outcome of the event. There are times when things will go south on you quickly, but if you are prepared you can survive it. Always think “outside the box” in all situations. The normal techniques may work but there is always another way or two that will also work. A problem is an obstacle in your way; a prepared individual will always find a way over it or around it to make it home.
Keep an open mind when it comes to learning new tasks or skill sets. Understanding another “technique” and not dismissing it because what the mainstream “operators” out there, is always a good way to increase your skill sets for any situation. Attempt to learn from a multiple of sources and people who have experience. But just because someone has served in the military for 5 years does not make him an expert on tactics. He may be smart and well experienced, but can he pass on the “wisdom” to others? There is a plethora of techniques to shoot an AR type rifle, not one is better than the other. Some have benefits but not for everyone that will use one. For example, I had this guy on my team that shot his pistol in a modified weaver stance and the grip looked weak. I tried to show him a sturdy Isosceles stance with a strong high grip but guess what? He shot a tight group center mass his way consistently, so guess which way he ended up shooting the rest of the time on my team? Yes, his way, because he hit the target accurately every time. The only thing is that by standing a little sideways you present your side (arm pit) where there is no plate carrier protecting you from frontal fire. But this is not guaranteed especially if the threat is down already due to your accurate fire. Remember accurate shot placement kills more threats than the caliber of the round.
Keep a “Beginners Mind” while attending classes from different instructors. This way you will be able to tell the difference from good information/technique from “bullshido” information. Always do your due diligence during your research for classes. True experts become master of the fundamentals versus mastering an advanced technique. If you have a solid foundation of your fundamentals, you can achieve those advance techniques through training and practice. The main fundamentals to never violate is sight picture and trigger squeeze/press. You will find yourself in different positions where you are unable to achieve a proper stance or grip, especially in the real world. Your breathing will be erratic due to the situation, so learn how to control your breathing while you move and shoot. It is always good to practice scenarios on the flat range where no one is shooting back, use a timer and physical movement to induce some mental stress to the event. This will bring out your deficiencies most of the time. When I was a demolition guy on the team, I loved doing ranges where I can practice different charges against targets to see the effect and if it will work effectively. This way, when I come across a situation that is similar, I know with some confidence that it will work. As always, Murphy is out there lurking.
Do not get cocky once you feel you are beginning to learn and getting down the basics. Like the saying goes “There are old Pilots and bold Pilots, but there are no old, bold Pilots.” Do not become a danger to yourself or those with you because of you letting your head get too big. I always go into a training event as a student with an open mind and try to learn the instructors’ technique and why he uses it. It may end up as another tool in my toolbox.
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