mental fatigue 1 of 3

MENTAL FATIGUE

I think we are all guilty of it, blaming others for lack of preparation by calling them lazy, or pussies, or weak or fat lardass girly men.  Not that there is anything wrong with that.  This is how a military unit self motivates to improve.  How sports teams excel.  Group pressure increases performance.  I’m especially guilty, labeling anyone not ready for a five year nuclear winter covering the Earth in sun blocking atmospheric debris a “pussy prepper” or a “princess prepper” or variants thereof.  If you don’t like to eat wheat, or can’t handle the recoil of the thirty caliber, or don’t rely on a bayonet as your back-up weapon, you are not worthy.  Yeh, I know.  If I take it too seriously, once it becomes more than just hyperbole, I start being wrong.

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 Because, first, 99% of us are NOT part of a prepper group, and we are almost all too old to join a sports team anymore ( except perhaps bowling or softball ).  And second, it can become counterproductive.  I know that all the men look at me now and want to be me, and all the females want to have my baby ( even if past menopause ).  But I wasn’t always this perfect.  I’m actually still a work in progress even if that is hard to believe ( relax, Francis.  I’m joking.  One of the things that makes me perfect is that I know I’m not perfect and am always trying to improve ). 

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Back in our hunter and gatherer days, most hunting/combat units were male relatives ( the females being imported from elsewhere. This kept the units more effective, and stopped babies from being banjo players.  This is why females naturally bond with new groups and males do not ).  Because of blood relations, the bonding and protectiveness were enhanced and the loyalty reinforced.  The inducement to perform beyond expectation followed.  That brain programming remains with us today.

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Which means that we group into tribes ( today that means hobby niches-and yes I know the term “survivalist hobby” is supposed to be an oxymoron because we are supposed to take this deadly seriously, but I contend you need to start as a hobby or you’ll never be motivated enough ) and the same dynamic prevails.  There is the natural male communication and interaction full of insults and judgmental expectations.  We insult and insist on increased performance.  You know what I’m talking about.  “PT all of the time”, “get rid of your TV and train all evening”, “if you ain’t firing a hundred rounds a week you are not serious about surviving a gun fight”.  I do it, you do it.  And we need to beware what we are doing, even if we never stop because it is our natural dynamic.

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Group pressure works great in a group.  Outside of a group, does it, really?  And does group pressure outside a group work when it is a group of introverts?  Come on!  Discussion and perceived benchmarks, that is one thing.  But shaming tactics?  Flippant disregard of others achievements?  Worse, when this is used as a shortcut to eliminate discussion.  If you merely say, “you must leave the city, now, to survive”, and then never discuss the subject again ( except to just repeat a variant thereof ), all that is is a judgment against the non compliant.  Wouldn’t it be better to discuss why it is bad, and how to work around the traps keeping you in the city?

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That is the danger of group pressure, without the benefit of group assistance.  It is easier to perform as a group, so obviously group pressure isn’t as bad of a thing.  You get the reward with the work.  When you are a loner on the computer, no one is helping you, just harassing you to increase performance.  And, no, it does no good to just focus on “self-discipline”.  Again, discipline in service of the group also includes a return on that investment in discipline.  Lone survivors have all of the responsibilities with no help.  “Help” in the form of judgment and condemnation is no help at all.

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( And, no, the answer is not “tribe up”, if it is even more impossible than a concrete bunker atop a mountain ).  Now, I’m not claiming that there should be an end to negative reinforcement.  Sometimes, there is little excuse for inaction.  When a five year supply of food in a container is $600, and AR’s are down to $400 ( I know, I know-it’s a starter and BTN rifle, okay? ) and when you can buy junk land for $500, at this point there really is little excuse for humping about with preps.  What I am saying is that within reason, you should allow that self discipline and motivation is harder than acknowledged.  And that mental fatigue is a real thing.  Don’t use it as a crutch, but realize it is a speed bump.

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Tomorrow, I’ll talk about my personal trials and tribulations with mental fatigue, but right now let’s put procrastination in perspective.  When we are young and full of energy, that is usually directed at sexual energy.  I often look back at how many hours I could sit and read a book in my early twenties, compared to now when I get antsy and keep getting up and moving around.  I think I was so focused on sex I wore myself out otherwise ( I’m not sure if I’m serious ).  But I understand I had no wisdom at the age ( which was, more likely, since only the Little Brain did any thinking ).  Once I achieved wisdom, my sex drive had diminished.  Only because my sex drive diminished did I gain wisdom.

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But by that time I had wore myself down working like a dog to attract sex, my energy level was way down.  It isn’t just a matter of discipline with procrastination.   It is physical energy levels.  And, obviously, mental energy levels.  While young, your focus on procreation shoves out all other considerations.  When old, mental and physical fatigue play a role there.  Again, not so much an excuse but an explanation.  Continued.

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