The Jungle is Neutral

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Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.1

In his book, The Jungle is Neutral, Freddy Spencer Chapman describes his experience as a World War II British soldier fighting in the Malaysian jungles. The fighting was intense, but the effect on the soldiers’ mindset was even more unsettling:

My experience is that the length of life of the British private soldier accidentally left behind in the Malayan [modern day Malaysia] jungle was only a few months…to them the jungle seemed predominantly hostile, being full of man-eating tigers, deadly fevers, venomous snakes and scorpions, natives with poison darts, and a host of half-imagined nameless terrors. They were unable to adapt themselves to a new way of life and a diet of rice and vegetables; in this green hell they expected to be dead within a few weeks – and as a rule they were…

It’s not surprising how the terror of jungle warfighting took a toll on soldiers.

However, not all soldiers capitulated. Some soldiers viewed the jungle opportunistically, with supplies and cover available for all:

The other school of thought, that the jungle teems with wild animals, fowls, and fish which are simply there for the taking, and the luscious tropical fruits-pawpaw, yams, bread-fruit and all that, drop from the trees, is equally misleading. The truth is that the jungle is neutral. It provides any amount of fresh water, and unlimited cover for friend as well as foe – an armed neutrality, if you like, but neutrality nevertheless. It is the attitude of mind that determines whether you go under or survive. There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so. The jungle itself is neutral.

The jungle was neither for nor against any soldier. Neither good nor bad. Just neutral. How soldiers responded to this neutral environment determined the “good” or “bad” outcomes.

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Excel Under Stress: One Simple Technique Used by Elite Military Special Operations Forces

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Breathing. An action so common yet so often neglected. We don’t realize the power inherent with our breathing. We know it keeps us alive, but beyond that, we tend to just forget about it.

Improper breathing accelerates stress and anxiety while hampering physical performance.

Proper breathing gives us better conscious control over stress and anxiety and enables peak physical response.

The odds are you have never considered the critical effect proper breathing has on mental performance, especially the ability to perform under pressure and stress. Stress and pressure are constants in our lives. We face it at work, at home, and in activities like athletics. Proper breathing, especially in high-pressure environments, enables peak performance and the ability to defeat your competition.

All it takes is one simple technique.

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Everyday Survival: 9 Ideas to Overcome Life’s Challenges

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2020 has been a never-ending year of adversity and uncertainty.

How well do you feel you were prepared?

Did you easily adapt to the difficult environment? Or did it feel like an endless battle to figure out what’s going on and what to do about it?

If you’ve struggled this year, you’re not alone. Most people don’t handle the unexpected well. And the idea of hoping for assistance from the government or other institutions has been disappointing with their unreliable, haphazard efforts.

Your ability to survive chaotic environments is, and always will be, up to you.

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Getting Through Tough Times: Lessons from James Stockdale

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If you’re looking for guidance on how to get through tough times, turn to James Stockdale. Stockdale was a Navy fighter pilot shot down during the Vietnam War. He spent eight years in a Hanoi prison. He was tortured fifteen times, put in solitary confinement for four years, and put in leg irons for two.1

You might be facing some stress, but I can promise you are better off than Stockdale was.

Stockdale knew something about getting through bad times. He knew something about adversity and struggle.

Today’s environment demands practical wisdom from those who have overcome extreme adversity.

No matter how tough our current circumstances, others have already gone through it. What we are going through is not unique. It certainly feels unique, but it’s not. Others have dealt with the exact same situations.

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