S-T-O-P

The first thing to do when you find yourself in a survival situation is to STOP. That is S-T-O-P.

That is an acronym for Sit, Think, Observe and Plan. Give yourself a few minutes to gather your thoughts, let the adrenaline settle, calm the mind and the nerves, and then proceed to the next step.

Think about what needs to be done.

Observe where you are at, what is around you, the environment, the terrain, etc.

And finally Plan your next move.

It is extremely important in a survival situation to remain positive. One way to be able to do that is to have fun while you are at it. It is difficult to have fun when you are alone, lost and hungry, but being unhappy is not going to help you anyway. So might as well make the best out of what looks like a disastrous situation. Look at your situation as extreme camping. Maybe look at it as baptism by fire. You have to decide what makes your boat float.

One thing that will certainly sink your morale is a bad attitude … and panic.

You have to keep your morale up. This is very important. The moment you become despondent, you start going downhill. Be engaged, keep yourself busy, do something which will:

• keep you occupied constructively,
• keep your mind away from the problem at hand, and
• give you a sense of achievement and accomplishment.

It is probably a blessing that almost everything in the wilderness takes time - building a shelter, purifying water, gathering material to build and light a fire, etc. All that time spent looking after yourself and caring for your health and safety works wonders for the mind and you know you have achieved something and provides you with the will to go that extra step.

Always keep you spirits high and do not allow yourself go into a depressed, negative, losing state. It just does not help!

Enjoy the adventure, even it is a survival situation.