The Psychology of survival: Four rules to live by

Rating ***

The author did a great job writing this article. It has facts and a lot of good information to support his topics.

This article was very informant and very much true. It explains that to survive in the outdoors or the wilderness, all you need to do is follow four simple rules. One, tell someone where you are going and for what time. Two, if you find yourself injured stay calm and stay where you are. Use a survival kit and logic to stay alive. Three,  do what ever you can to survive. Stay warm, make a fire, reduce sweating, and make shelter as needed. Lastly fourth, make a large signal for rescuers to find you. By being prepared, using logic and following these four simple rules we increase our chances of surviving greatly. The author related these rules to when early in the Second World War how allied pilots who crash-landed had a very high mortality rate then later on in the war. The Allied air forces had trained the pilots on how to survive in the wild and how to use the survival kits; this is how the mortality rate decreased throughout the war. The psychology part comes in affect at the point where Mr.Godsoe explains that if we are in an emergency and we know what to do and expect with a positive attitude the odds of surviving will improve vastly.

I loved this small article. It had information i did not know, it gave a brief description of the facts on how to survivie and why we need to perform them. I had no idea that the Allied countries in War trained the fliers to be ready in emergency and if we train our mind the right way then we will know what to do in each situation. The four rules/tips he stated were very useful although I had already known them and most people do now a days. I have thought about if this article may change my behaviour in the outdoors, and I think it certainly has.

Godsoe, Gerry. The Psychology of survival: Four rules to live by. Ottawa Outdoors, 2008/2009.