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3 MIN READ TIME

TAKE THE BLINDERS OFF

I can’t speak for everyone, but I think there is a certain amount of optimism that makes up part of the mental image, and ultimately our plans, for the types of challenges we might be subjected to and the environments we’ll be forced to deal with in those situations. While we typically see ourselves as prevailing, which is good, I think there is something missing that could work against us.

Despite the fact that my work is heavily dependent on words, I’m more of a visual person when it comes to learning, retention and planning. Give me a good book or an insightful magazine article (see 13 of those in the coming pages), and I probably won’t retain much of what I read unless there are some good images to reinforce the plot or topic. But, if I watch a movie or TV program, chances are I’ll retain a lot more of what I saw. So, when I consider and plan out what I need to be prepared for, it goes through my head like a series of movie clips that take place in assumed settings, which are almost always sunny and dry. Generally, I’ve rarely thought twice about the macro aspect of those settings; things like weather, the season and the time of day.

Of course, if the threat du jour is a flood caused by the creek behind my house, the setting is during one of our rainy seasons, but the non-weather-related run-throughs in my mind usually take place on dry earth and sunny days, which is the point I’m getting at. Many, if not all, of my plans will change by simply adjusting the settings from day to night and dry to wet. I need to do a better job of planning through scenarios that take place in all sorts of conditions, and you may too. For example, what if that flood occurred in the dead of winter? Sure, in North Georgia chances are not great for that but neither were they for the “once-in-1,000-year” flood we had in the late summer of 2009, but it happened.

Read the complete article and many more in this issue of American Outdoor Guide: Boundless
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