Using your mental toughness to escape the jungle.

This is not a post about escaping the corporate or political jungle although it could be . It’s an account of the way an ordinary person used her mental toughness to survive 17 days deep in the jungle on the island of Maui.

Yoga instructor Amanda Eller went missing one ordinary Wednesday, when she was on a short jog and meditation in the forest ,with no hat, no sunscreen, no water, no phone. On her way back to her car she fell, injured a knee and had raging infections spreading on her shins. She quickly became disorientated and limped deep into the thick Maui jungle with its lush vegetation and active wildlife. 

The challenges began to mount as she lost her shoes in a flash flood , slept in dens made by wild boars and steadily dropped 10kg in weight on her daily diet of leaves and berries.

However, the local community didn't give up the search to find her and seventeen days after she vanished, a helicopter pilot spotted her, badly dehydrated and waving from the top of a dangerously tall waterfall. 

Many believed finding her alive was a miracle but her mental toughness enabled her to survive by methodically tackling the challenges she faced every day and night of being lost ;

Asserting power over what outcomes she believed she could control and influence.

Every day that Amanda was lost, she knew she had a decision to make – keep going or give up. She continued to side with life, even after a discouraging Day 14, when she realized she was invisible to search helicopters flying over her. “As the sun starts to go down, you’re like, ‘Okay another night alone. How am I going to stay warm? How am I going to stay alive?’” she said in a news conference shortly after her rescue. “And it was a very loud clear message that I received that said, ‘If you want to say ‘no’ and you want to sit on that rock, you’re going to die. So, you have a choice to make. You can sit on that rock and say ‘mercy’ and you can feel pitiful for yourself and play victim and you die OR you can or you can start walking down that waterfall and choose life.’ It was a pivotal time in my life where I had to choose life. Every single step was, ‘I choose life.’”

Solving problems

Amanda knew she needed food, water and shelter. Obtaining those necessities was where her energy went.

Tolerating discomfort.

Instead of thinking about the comfortable bed she didn’t have, Amanda was grateful to find plants trampled and patted down by animals where she could rest.

Keep her life goals front of mind

As a yoga instructor ,Amanda’s goals have long been to offer healing. Even through her ordeal, she thought there might be something she could learn that would help others. She forced herself to think about what benefits could be derived from the experience and pushed her mind beyond her current predicament.

Striving for balance and personal wellbeing .

 Amanda’s lifestyle choices of exercise, meditation, a healthy diet, attention to rest, a peaceful community and time spent in nature no doubt kept her mind and body strong and provided knowledge about the natural environment, which were critical factors to her survival.

Maintaining hope.

Mentally tough people don’t allow negative thoughts to overwhelm them or get distracted by pain from the past or worries about the future and neither did Amanda in this case.

The learnings didn't stop either ,post her rescue ;

Accepting responsibility and learning from her mistakes.

Amanda was the first to acknowledge that she had set off that morning unprepared and without informing anyone.

Having a strong network. 

After the event Amanda was shocked to know how many people were committed to her safe rescue but that was testament to her network.

Whilst the above account details using mental toughness to survive an extraordinary situation we all face daily challenges and obstacles that we can work through and overcome through a mentally tough mindset .

Developing a mentally tough mindset is a choice – your choice to take control and assume responsibility for the way you think and feel ,whatever the external situation or prevailing circumstances .

For more on Amanda’s situation as described byBonnie Stevens access the original article here ;

https://www.flagstaffbusinessnews.com/mental-toughness-finds-a-way-out-of-the-jungle/

Thanks to Tom Libelt on Unsplash for use of his photo 

I am an experienced mental toughness and leadership practitioner who advises and coaches business owners and leaders and their organisations.

As Co-Founder of Mental Toughness Partners, the leading specialist mental toughness (think resilience and confident mindset) and MTQ psychometric company in the southern hemisphere, I provide sales and support of AQR International products to coaches, leaders and their organisations throughout Australia, New Zealand and the SE Asia region.

To discuss further how we can assist you to measure and develop your mental toughness please contact me, Paul Lyons via;

W: www.mentaltoughness.partners

E: [email protected]

T: (61) 419 224 875

LI: https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/paullyonsadviser/