Mental toughness is the only thing that’s going to keep you alive in bad situations. All of the task-related survival skills in the world aren’t going to help you if you’re unable to fight out of the situation. Learn the 3 most valuable mental toughness skills below.

• Learn how not to feel sorry for yourself. That sort of thinking could be a distraction from focusing on what you need to do to survive. But you don’t need to wait until a disaster comes to adopt a more positive mode of thinking. Think of three circumstances in life that interfere with your happiness, and make a list of what you could do to eliminate or at least reduce them. Then commit to doing at least two of the things on the list.
• Don’t be too proud to listen to others’ wisdom. Watching, listening to, and studying the experience of someone who’s done it before can help you to make it through a big challenge.
• Learn to S.T.O.P. Stop when you realize that you have a problem. Think about what you need to do to make it to safety. Observe the area and look for resources. Plan how you’re going to use your available resources, such as, tools, food rations or fuel, and then stick to that approach.

Keeping a cool head when times get tough is the most important skill you can learn, and it encompasses a lot of the elements of the skills below. If you keep a cool head, you can keep from being overwhelmed and feeling sorry for yourself. If you keep a cool head, you can S.T.O.P. before things get so bad that it’s too late. And if you keep a cool head, you won’t be too embarrassed to admit that someone else may know a bit more about a given skill or area than you; learn from the best to prepare for the worst.

For more excellent advice like this, check out the original article at National Geographic.