dealing with adversity

How do you deal with adversity?

What strains my nerves about more than anything is when people whine and complain about little nuances.  When things start to go wrong have you ever noticed how much people whine and complain instead of looking for solutions and responding positively.  It’s one thing to voice displeasure and another to whine and be pissy.  When I am in a situation and voice my displeasure I am already actively trying to figure out a solution.  As I do with many real life situations, I transitioned from the particular baseball situation an asked myself what would happen if you kept a whining and complaining attitude in the mountains.  These mental mistakes can and will destroy you.  Remember, making the choice to hunt in the mountains means you are purposely seeking out adversity. The mountains don’t care if you fail and the animals certainly don’t either, Hell they’re trying to live.   The glory of the success we hear about in the mountains is a very brief snap shot of the entire realm of the hunt. Really the pictures of a successful hunt are just the middle of the adversity.  Anyone who has hauled an animal off a mountain can back me on that.      If you crack easily under adversity then I’ll tell you now, the mountains will have no mercy, shred your sorry carcass and leave you as a shell of your former self.

From many years of quietly observing whiners and complainers I have broken down what happens into three phases.   First, negative thoughts begin circulating your thoughts  which leads  using negative verbal language.  Both these tear down your determination and desire to succeed.  God forbid you have a hunting partner with you when this starts.  Once you allow negative language to seep into your being,  this takes a toll on your physical body.  Your body language and action are one of self-pity and being defeated.   At this point unless you can find a way to get your head back in the game fast, the mountain has you toasted.  There is a difference between whining and voicing frustration, it’s your response. Now like I asked, how do you deal with adversity? Dealing with adversity comes from within you, from what I’ve leaned this past baseball season; everyone has their own style of dealing and coping with adversity.  I guess the best way to teach how to deal with adversity is to explain the ways that have worked best for me.  First you have to start by build your mental fortitude by believing you are tougher than any physical situation the mountains can throw you. This takes time and practice, so start now. When that bull gives you the slip and takes off up that avalanche chute; do you wuss out or tighten your boot laces?  Second, I get over it.  When failure strikes I salvage the positive, learn from the negative, then make a game plan to move on.  One of the biggest things with hunting is learning from failure and not turning your back on the valuable lessons the painful situations possess.  The wild gives you the tests first and the lessons second.  Finally, mentally prepare your approach to the mountains far before you hit the trail head.  Your approach and how you deal with adversity is uniquely yours.  True you won’t really know what the Mountains are going to pitch until you get out there.  But by taking the right approach and mentality when you go to push the wild limits, you can dominate the mountains and put your quarry in the freezer.