Ajit Jaokar is the founder of the London based publishing and research company futuretext (
Inspiration for the recession.. Ray Mears, Kim Wolhuter etc ..
Considering all the doom and gloom I thought I should add a slightly different perspective based on my own experiences and thoughts ..
I am a big fan of documentaries .. And I like Ray Mears bush craft series ..
Oddly enough .. Many of the insights for extreme survival – may well apply to the recession for many of us. By ‘Extreme survival’ we mean surviving in situations which can be seen as truly hopeless(stranded at sea for 30 days in a life raft .. that sort of thing ..)
Especially this one Mind over matter – psychology of survival is excellent .. Is one of the best I have seen ..
A synopsis ..
The most critical factor when someone finds themselves in a hostile environment – and the difference between life and death – is a positive state of mind. “Survival is psychology,” says Lt Col Dr Bruce Jesson, a psychologist with the US Department of Defence. “Your head makes the decisions about how you perceive the threat you’re faced with – whether you’re going to approach it with realistic optimism or whether you feel overwhelmed and perish.”
“Everyone is a potential victim, not everyone is a potential survivor,” says Dr John Leach, of the Department of Psychology at the University of Lancaster. “What we’re trying to do is to find out why some people died when they didn’t need to.”
Some more thoughts from other Ray Mears survival documentaries that may help you in recession ..
- I can do only what I can – I am doing the best I can and that’s all I can do
- Extreme Survival is often a one step at a time process
- Stop and think – take stock – before you take a path. It may make all the difference between life and death
- Preparedness mentality – extreme survivors have a mentality of preparing for any eventuality. They have anticipated what they need
- Realistic optimism .. Optimistic but also acknowledging the situation clearly at hand
- Follow the leader and trust the leader(this assumes that the leader is experienced at survival and is good)
- Imagine .. Warm food when you are back on dry land etc
Another excellent documentary if you are into wildlife etc – Kim Wolhuter’s double emmy award winning
film Predators at war – and also one of the most brutal wildlife films I have seen ..
Filmed on location at Mala Mala, the National Geographic film tells the story of how five of Africa’s leading predators compete for territory and food during the brutal drought that affected the area in 2002/03.
You see totally strange behaviour , synergies and conflicts from animals in extreme survival conditions and how the ones who are flexible and work in a group – especially Hyenas, wild dogs and lions survive ..
Much to learn from this as well – change of tactics, unorthodox / bold strategies and working in a group
