“WHAAAAT?!? ARE YOU NUTS?!?! What if you die? Aren’t you concerned???”
The overwhelming consensus when I’d mention to someone that I’m going on a solo trip (alone) in the Boundary Waters.
All of which are valid questions.
I suppose in this day and age, anyone going on a solo is wired differently. Many don’t care for traditional tent camping – preferring a hotel or, at minimum, a camper where “there is running water”. Much less don’t care for travel by canoe – preferring a boat or pontoon where they can blare their pop or country music and while sipping on their wine coolers. Furthermore, and as mentioned previously in the introductory post, the vast majority of us don’t care to ever unplug from society.
No texting. No Facebook. No Twitter. No internet. NO RECEPTION. It is nuts, but I’d highly recommend everyone to at least unplug from everything one weekend out of the year. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the outcome if you do. Anyway, I’m going down a rabbit trail so lets get back to your next question.
“What if you die?”
My rhetorical retort is always: “What do you enjoy the most? Would you rather take your final breath enjoying your passion or have it be in the stale air of a hospital?
Channeling my inner Braveheart “All of us die, few truly live” I’ll continue my rational because I know that you’re going to next ask, “Aren’t you ever afraid?”
Capt. Spears from Band of Brothers echoes my sentiment perfectly when he coaxed the fear out of shell-shocked Private Blithe, “The only hope you have is to accept the fact that you’re already dead. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you’ll be able to function as a soldier is supposed to function…” It seems a bit backwards, but keeping a mentality such as this is crucial, for it dispels fear. When you’re not afraid, you think and rationalize clearly. You’re unshaken.
You’re also innately focused. Maintain such and you’ll tame your greatest enemy: your mind. This is just part of the holistic approach with tackling your mindset.
As you begin to let go of yourself, let’s now focus on the next step to boost your mental “toughness”:
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