TENACITY: A WILL TO SURVIVE, PART TWO.

Photo: Karim MANJRA @karim_manjra

Tenacity

“mental or moral strength to resist opposition, danger, or hardship.”

Opposition, danger, or hardship, sounds like a survival situation. Mental or moral strength. The will to survive.

Tenacity is a character trait of survivors. Tenacious people can dig deep when they need it. They are resilliant. They draw upon moral belief, conviction. Moral value to motivate. A higher cause. Where mental strength taps the incapacity to quit. Tenacity is something you want to cultivate if you want to survive.

How does someone cultivate tenacity? Can it be taught, learned? Or is it something you have or don’t have?

Some people naturally have a more tenacious nature. Values and up bring play a role I believe, be it good or bad. Tenacity can be added to or increase. By finding a higher cause or belief to rally for, you can increase your tenacity to perform. Religious fanatics will fight to the death knowing the cause will live on. Knowing your family depends on your for their survival can add to someone’s tenacity. A purpose to live, to resist. To not accept your fait.

Training your brain through the experience of difficult experience is a good way to build your resolve. Your mental strength. Doing things that you do not like to do. Try taking cold showers. Get a taste for the future, while at the same time building your tenacity. Another way would be to go for an aggressive ruck march. Do this weekly, always challenging yourself to go faster, farther, with more weight, over harder terrain, or in winter on snowshoes. The point is…do hard things. The benefits of doing so are numerous. One of which is it builds your mind’s resolve, mental endurance, tenacity.

Ultimately survival comes down to the individual and their character attributes. It is the same thing that elite special forces screen for. An individual with a strong will to survive will posses Tenacity, Adaptability, Work Ethic, Creativity, Positivity, Acceptance, Humour, Bravery, and Motivation.

We will explore each of these character traits and how they relate to survival in this 10 part series….The Will to Survive.

Next up Adaptability…

The Northern Survivalist