What kind of mental training does everyone here do?

Do you guys do training currently of some sort on your mind? Would it just be reading and learning? I'm really curious for any responses.

 

For me with my job I have plenty of time to think design and refine things while I'm working I have way too much time to sit and think, I also listen to audiobooks and on my down time I do a lot of reading and watching of videos to learn more.

 

Read...research...practice....

 

I live, even to this day, tactical work and teach it to those who request it. I am, therefore, required to train in it, research it, read up on it and practice it. I teach concealed carry in the state where I live and I teach local police officers and, on occasion, when called upon, some military people. Here I am 66 years old still going and doing like the Energizer Bunny. I just keep going and going and going. Who knows? Maybe one day I'll slow down, give it up and go into full retirement. But, until then, I'm going to keep going and heading down the road.

 

I know it is hard work, but the peace of mind is worth it 10 fold!

 

Had many adventures in life learnt a lot
I mentally run scenarios from different perspectives etc
None will actually happen as envisioned but have found it really saves time when things actually happen!
For work I used to run possible scenarios in my mind for some of the regular dangers!
when these dangers actually happened I acted quickly and correctly as per the mock scenarios !
Very handy
I have run them on a forum or two but few get it and most either ridicule or derail the thread because they do not understand the principle behind it!
I can run a few here if there is interest!

 

Lately I have begun practicing mindfulness. It is an extremely valuable thing to learn. I try to stay present. I don't make long detailed and tedious lists for getting through my day anymore. Instead I will plan to work 30 minutes. And to begin I will just look around and see what needs done, and then do it. Rather than following a list of things to do. It keeps me focused and present. The things I accomplish are considerable, and they happen almost effortlessly when applying the principal of mindfulness.

 

I do a lot of research to prepare myself mentally, so I will know what to do. It will be more like reflex. I also do a lot of praying so that my mind has peace in the greater power.

 

I agree with so many on this thread. Research and planning help to create a proper mindset. I also agree that action helps, too. By training, putting the research and planning into action, you get first hand knowledge of how you react in certain situations. I realize that this training is not the real deal, but it's as close as your going to get.

 

New to the forum but I would be interested in hearing one!

 

Here is a mental preparation game for situational awareness with a friend go to a store park far from the entrance walk in together look around you take note of people. Their age height hair color get detail. Do not look longer then A few seconds do not stare walk steady no stopping. When your done shopping have a discussion about someone you saw who do you think they might be. This helps you build a library of normal short term viewing. Criminals tend to stand out in their behavior. They will stand out in movement interest(of you) clothing.

 

Not exactly sure what point your trying to make?

 

Give it a try see if you miss anything your friend notices what could it possible hurt you.

 

I do a lot of research to prepare myself mentally, so I will know what to do. It will be more like reflex. I also do a lot of praying so that my mind has peace in the greater power.

 

My daily activities just revolve around meditation. Won't believe how much it helps. It brings me deeper to my thoughts at the same time also clearing my head. It feels like I am preparing for something mentally, even though it might not be needed yet.

 

I agree with all of you As you said lots of researches and reading helps Preps however My Mental training is Yoga, I practice Yoga which include lots of meditations on daily basis, This helps me to relax and To connect with myself It helps me to think quite And I recommend it to all of you guys.

 

I read a lot and have a library that is rather insane. I also spend a lot of time these days learning various new tricks and practicing the ones that I learned in the past. I really like doing almost any sort of hand crafts. I also do some various forms of meditation occasional fasting and have practiced self hypnotism. The ability to induce an endorphin release that is normally associated with extreme fear can at times be handy. If nothing else I can make pain a nonissue for short periods if I need to.

To me the biggest thing you can do to increase your chances of survival in the mental area is a game that I think of as "What if??" Think about what you would need to do if various things happened to you in various different places. Hopefully that if something ever happens I will be able to act fast because I will be able to at least some extent skip the panicked "What in the hell am I going to do NOW!!!???" response.

Based on these sort of things I have my various vehicles stocked so that if I have to hoof it home on foot I will have most of the tools that will allow that. If I run into something and don't know how to deal with it then that is something that I will research. Since I am bugging in place I have the advantage of being able to stock pile supplies and tools that wouldn't be portable. I think of the things that I would need to make or do and then acquire the tools and knowledge to do those things. My current thing is building a working forge and maybe a small foundry. I am a machinist and already have machine tools but they would be mostly useless with out power so I'm trying to step back a hundred years in technology.

I try to learn something new at least every year in the way of hand work.

 

One of the methods that I use most by being completely effective in my mental training is the repetition method.

At first, I have to admit it was extremely annoying at times (and I had already thought about giving up ), but as I evolved I began to like it more and more. Currently, I do this pleasantly and the method is still extremely efficient. My mind is always in training.

 

Reading is the very best thing that you can do other than actually going out and doing everything imaginable. It gets you thinking and even fiction offers you a lot of ideas. I'm with you; I read a LOT and have a huge library. After TEOTWAWKI, books are going to be worth a lot more than they are now both for reference and entertainment. No kidding I could open a book store right now.

 

Makes two of us!

 

Seems the wife and I have always been in survival mode. Were I to tell about the really horrific crap that's happened to us, the personal mind-rapes, no one would believe me. Sometimes I wonder about my life. Maybe this is some sick hallucination in the mind of God. Our family stories are a steady stream of cancer, violent death, financial loss, loss of family (to include an adult child), and chronic illness. All that we have done is attempt to survive. I'm in the Twilight Zone, just existing, nothing to look forward to. Kind'a odd that I'm commenting on a survival site, when in fact, I no longer care if I live or die.

 

Survival is mostly about the mental ability to continue even when there seems to be no reason too. I've never figured out how some people do it. I think that it is a strength that you just have that maybe most don't. Sometimes the only way to survive is just simply out live the bad times so that you will be around when it gets better. You can always die. That is easy. Living is hard and sometimes you just have to live because others need you. Bless you and yours. I wish only good for you.

 

I just ain't going! that's about it!
Stubborn as a Mule! Hide like a Rhino, Cunning as a Fox and can be as savage as a rabid dog!
Also always cool as a cucumber, I never loose it!

 

In America's urban and suburban areas, the plague of "somebody is going to take care of it" is pandemic. Couple that with near-zero self-sufficiency and one beholds a recipe for disasters of every ilk. They can't defend themselves from looters. Turn off the electricity and they lose their minds on day two. Anything breaks, they call someone 'cause they can't fix anything (haven't a clue as to how anything works, save maybe their computer, sad) -- and they have no tools what to speak of. They are unarmed and even if they own a weapon, haven't a clue how to use it nor the mindset to use it. If their credit card or checking card ceases to work, they are dead in the water. European Americans do not even have sufficient skills to be a "decent" thief. In America's cities, only minorities have the skill set and mental toughness to loot and beat people who resist their intent.

 

Question. Someone once told me that back in the 1960's and before, Saturdays were "fix your car day" in the U.K.; everyone was repairing their car on Saturday. Was this a tradition / an almost assigned chore? Stands to reason of course, that being the end of the week and looking at a week coming up, gotta have your car running -- but above and beyond that, had Saturdays some "Thou shalt fix thy car" designation / holy mission? This got stuck in my head when I was a kid in the 1960s.

 

What you two are saying might be true where you live but where I live it just isn't the case. Even in the cities we are well armed and even more important the law of the land allows us to use those weapons to defend ourselves and our property and the property of our neighbors. A riot here would be a blood bath for the rioters.

As far as the fixing thing, the problem now is that most things are intentionally designed to be unfixable. I made a good living for about 40 years fixing things and watched as over the last 15 years company after company sabotaged their own products so that they only last a few years and then when they break down you can't fix them. It is not at all uncommon for the computers that they put in everything now days is designed to last 3 to 5 years and then be unavailable after that.

People are stupid and allow companies to do this instead of demanding quality products that last like they used to. The old "you get what you pay for" saying is a lie now. Companies make crap, jack the price up sky high and people go for it over and over. In general the higher the cost the less likely it is to last. Consumers will by a gold plated cow patty if the price is high enough. They think that because it is expensive then it must be great.

I don't understand when or how it happened but people have just stopped holding anyone responsible for what they do. They let the politicians promise the world and then they do nothing that they promised over and over like they can't remember the same lies last election from the same liars. If you by an appliance that lasts 3 to 5 years that replaced an appliance that had lasted 15 or 20 years you should NEVER by from that company again. Instead they rush back and by another one and pay even more for it. As long as there are no repercussions for producing bad products or politicians for not doing what they promise or even criminals that get off with a wrist slap for beating people up and stealing their hard earned money why should we expect them to do better?

 

PS to above: I wish that there was a mental exercise that would make people that have no gonads regrow some. Acceptance might be good Christianity but then all that good people have to do to insure that evil thrives is NOTHING!!! People other than minorities need to start getting mad when they are treated bad, stolen from, lied to and sold inferior crappy products!!! If you will look at history you will find that when ever people in general quit caring those that do care tend to take over and these people generally aren't very nice and it ends up taking a lot of lives to get them out of power.

 

Well, here's a vote in favor of your living. Both of you.

 

I try. In a gentle, positive way, without raising my blood pressure.

Going by the income from my web site, I've not succeeded.

 

This is what I say about my maternal grandfather (subsistence hunter, part Cherokee, part black bear, born just after 1900, who had to come down out'a the mountains to get any kind'a job when he got his teenage bride pregnant): "The man died in his seventies, then lived to be 90. The concept of he, himself, dying was foreign to him -- he "didn't get it". That he was supposed to have stopped going on didn't make sense to him in any way."

He's likely reincarnated as a bear again, 'cause being human doesn't quite match his kind of soul. Shoot, when human he was hairy and fat. Didn't speak often -- his giggle was air passing through his teeth. When I was young, like 4-6, he'd put me in scary situations and laugh at me when my eyes got big.

 

I mostly moved out into the country so I don't have to deal with as much stupidity. I stopped watching the news on TV but gripe a lot and harass people on various boards. I'm quite proud that I can just totally infuriate people out on the end of both political wings. I am very democratic and detest the Democratic AND Republican parties equally and generally vote libertarian or write in a dead comedian. Does anybody remember Pat Paulsen? If liberals were really liberal they would be a lot nicer and if Conservatives were really conservative they would stop sending all the jobs out of the country and conserve the American way of life for AMERICANS.

I found that dealing with people while resisting the urge to just pinch their heads right OFF is great mental conditioning for bad times after an apocalypse. I will be happy to just go ahead and DO them in after TEOTWAWKI and life should then be a lot less stressful. By the way that was only partially sarcasm.

 

I am always thinking. Training? I hope that having knowledge will put me ahead of many. I some important ways I attempt to be prepared. Not in a nutty way.

An example is if you drive a car or truck. You want to have a spare and the ability to change it. Going further away from people would be prudent to have 2 spares. An air pump and the ability to change it. In the dead of winter you need the ability to stay warm just in case. Many travel experts will tell travels to be prepared. Carry water when going into the desert, etc.

So having knowledge is mental training. Attempting some level of preparedness whenever I and now that I have a family, my family does things. Is training and at the sometime preparedness at the same time.

If a bad situation occurs and I was training. I will be more prepared due to past experiences in training and the fact that I have some situational awareness and have the things needed to be prepared.

 

In the 60's UK most cars were a rich mans thing and they were just getting to be a working mans thing! Car ownership was new to most and the pommie people cars were not the best!
My dad was a taxi driver with his own taxi back then in Worthing/Sussex he drove a French PEUGEOT 303 as there were no decent british cars available/suitable.

 

When I was a kid. Our Saturdays were fix our car days. I rebuilt an engine 4 years or so before I could drive. Pulled my first transmission before I could drive. Its crazy how much stuff we had to do ourselves. Now I have a family and think I will be doing a lot of fix it ourselves repairs or we won't be able to have the repairs done.

 

My martial teacher taught us to adapt. He taught us principles and upon those principles, we learned to create our own fighting style. As I turn out his lessons carried over and after practicing with him I felt I could deal with life's issues much better. First and foremost training starts in the mind. Accept the situation you're in. Like if you're in a fight accept that you WILL most likely get hit cut and shot. Accepting that makes you free from fear and once you can think straight you can do anything. The mind controls the body, control your mind and your body will follow.

 

I think meditation definitely helps. I spend around 10 to 20 minutes everyday focusing myself on present. And that helps me get the best from any action I do. I think not everyone can pull this off. But I think positive thoughts definitely helps. I think mental training along with physical definitely helps.

 

Mindfulness, people watching, research, spiritual mindset, and lots of reading. Having supplies and renewable food sources helps me to be able to spend more time focusing on the things I do not have ready yet.