You’ve read about it, probably heard it countless times and no doubt experienced it yourself at some point: Mind over matter…as in if you don’t mind it won’t matter. Suck it up, grind it out, push through the pain and you’ll make it to whatever the objective might be. However I would argue that mental toughness only works when you have a solid base established and adrenaline shouldn’t be counted on at all. This is especially applicable for those of us who have gear stashed in the house and haven’t put it on for 12 months, much less gone for a walk around the block. The point is simple really, if you don’t spend the time to prepare when it truly counts you are only setting yourself up for epic failure.
Let’s look at the body as if it were a race car. Maybe in its prime the car was setting lap records, meticulously maintained by top level mechanics and engineers and fine tuned to the point of near perfection. After a few years the car is sold at auction and then a few more times as collectors pass it down to guys who like to go fast at the local clubs. These guys can’t afford to dump the amount of money into the car that the sponsored teams used to so off the shelf components (sometimes subpar) are used. The car gets dinged up and eventually ends up in storage for 10 years where the oil just sits in the pan and dust collects on the instrument panel. So here’s the question, if someone were to pull that car out of storage and manage to get it started would it be able to successfully race? The tires would have flat spots and be rotted and no doubt the engine might seize after the first hard lap (that is if it even managed to pass inspection).
The point here is this, we have to maintain our bodies in order for them to be effective when called upon. Maybe someone worked in a capacity which required a super high level of fitness at one point in their life. Once they moved on from that life they sat on the couch, drank beer, gained 50 lbs and did a whole lot of nothing for 10 years. While the mental toughness is certainly still there from previous experiences the body is just not capable of extended duration activity or anything that remotely resembles the past experiences.
I’ll give you one more example. On my best day I could run 5 miles over uneven terrain in about 38 minutes yet now I’m quite sure that time would be in the mid 40’s. Do you think if I went out there this morning, slammed a few energy drinks with the intention of willing myself to run 5 in 38 I could do it? Absolutely not, my body is just not capable of doing that at this point in time. In order to meet that time standard I would have to train for around 3 to 4 months.
So maybe you have a 50 lb bugout bag sitting in your basement and prior military experience. Back in the day you could shoulder twice as much weight and go 20 miles, sure it sucked but it was mandatory and you made it happen. Right now you assume that you’ll be able to call on those prior experiences if necessary to assist you in toughing it out if SHTF goes down and you need to once again move over long distances. But your feet are softer than they used to be, your legs aren’t as strong, your shoulders might not be as solid…not to mention you really haven’t shouldered your pack and done anything significant with it in years. Be careful what you assume because sometimes the mind is oh so willing but the body no longer able to comply.
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Now I’d be hauling kids. This dented old rust bucket, in need of an oil change would have to move at children’s pace and endurance or carry them. Without resupply. I plan on not doing it in the time I used to but 3x what I used to do it in, while expending more energy doing a slower time.