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Mentally Tough Hunters (Part 1)

Get angry often? Break the habit so you can hunt more

Situations will unfold at some point in life and hunting that test your character.

And depending on the individual and situation, the response can vary greatly.

Regardless, one of the things I find fascinating is how our mood, in this case, anger, can influence our internal health and dictate whether we experience more hunting trips in life.

Recent literature has shown that a negative mood such as anger measured multiple times a day was associated with higher levels of inflammation. ¹

Higher inflammation levels may not seem like a bad thing if you don’t have a health sciences background.

However, if you understand what it can do to you consistently, you will realize that higher levels of inflammation are often the first step to many chronic diseases. ²

And the scary part with higher inflammation levels, in the long run, it can bite you when you least expect it just like the teeth of a bear bite.

Not good.

Don’t worry, I have some ideas on how hunters can lessen this predicament from occurring.

It is not necessarily that we have to be perfect and never get angry ever again in our life.

The goal is to self-reflect and find the moments, especially during the off-season where anger was expressed that didn’t need to be.

Then, we need to rewire our brains to respond to situations differently.

Rewire our brain in a way, so we understand the significance of our anger.

One way of recognizing the significance of our anger is by looking at ourselves in terms of the universe.

In the universe, we are merely a speck of dust.

And in the grand scheme of the universe where there are planets, stars, knowns, and unknowns, do you think the supposed thing that is making us angry means as much as initially thought?

Do you think planet earth changed much when you became angry over something?

Here is another way of thinking about it.

Do you think in 27 years you will remember what you were angry over last Thursday?

Most likely not.

Maybe someone backs over your bow with their truck a day before you leave for your 10-day hunting trip. Yes, this is an unfortunate situation. But, there is no need to get angry. It’s just a bow. Objects can be replaced.

Maybe someone is driving slower than what you want. Yes, this may make you feel impatient or late for something. But there is no need to get angry. It’s just a situation in life that is not going the way you want. Which, if you think about it, is most of life. Besides, maybe since the driver in front of you is driving slowly, you are preventing a potential accident in the future from occurring yourself.

Once you begin rewiring your mind you will find that anger is merely a quick uncontrolled impulsive response that offers no benefit. It makes us believe we can change the outcome simply by getting angry. Even if you change the outcome, you also just suppressed your immune system by activating inflammation levels to coexist. This means poor health and potentially less hunting in life.

Remember, we are just floating on a planet that is in an enormous universe. Yes, we are small. Our “problems” that make us angry are even smaller.

We don’t need to be perfect. We just need to lessen the number of times we become angry.

Especially over insignificant things.

So, my call to action is for you to reflect and crush the causes of your anger by re-wiring your brain.

In turn, you keep inflammation down, experience more happiness, and put yourself in a position to experience more hunting.

Now we are getting somewhere.

References

¹ https://news.psu.edu/story/552547/2018/12/20/research/negative-mood-signals-bodys-immune-response

² https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-disease/ask-the-doctor-what-is-inflammation

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