I noticed not long after writing that last post that I forgot the truly most important emergency essential for survival in any situation. This is the one thing you must have before bothering to plan your survival: the will to live. Not only must you have the will to live, but also the willpower to make sure you live. The unshakable desire to survive no matter what you have with you or what you have to do to make sure you will wake up the next day.
The will to live is what allows those that survive horrendous problems to keep walking beyond exhaustion. It forces them to think when most people would just sit and cry. Without the will to live, nobody would survive anything worse than dinner.
The will to live, to survive and to thrive is what pushes your favorite action character to do those incredible things in that movie you love so much. Somewhere I once read that adventure is you reading about someone else having a really bad day. The will to live is what prevents the psychological problems of any survival attempt. Besides, if you don’t survive, you won’t know it.
OK so enough about what the will to live is and why it’s necessary. Just realize that you have to decide that you will survive long before you have any chance of survival. Once you’ve made that decision, all the rest is a bit easier.
“You are only as strong as your will to live.”
— Unknown
“If God ordains that Man should die without a fight, then why does He give us the will to live?”
— Admiral Nelson in ‘Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea’.