Your Mind as Everyday Carry

Everyday carry kits and survival kits have been a big thing – and maybe they still are. All over YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, people have been making videos about the tools and kits they carry around every day. Mint tin survival kits are kind of a cool thing. An entire industry sprang up around them. At the time, it seemed like everyone was making videos and selling gadgets and tools for surviving the zombie apocalypse or other local catastrophe.
Many still are.

In the age of extreme weather events and other challenges that seem to happen all the time – hurricanes, wild fires, career decisions, and everything else, it isn’t a bad idea to be prepared. Having the right tool might mean the difference between surviving and moving forward, or not. I think we are all vulnerable to catastrophes and challenges. Creek Stewart, a well-known survival expert, famously says: “Remember, it’s not if, but when.” So, what is the best survival tool available?

I am not here to sell you anything – except an idea. It is a simple one: The greatest survival tool you can have to survive or move forward is a three pound, or so, gelatinous mass that we all carry between our ears. That is, your brain, or rather, your mind.

Look, Charles Darwin never talked about “survival of the fittest”. Herbert Spencer said that after reading Darwin’s book, The Origin of Species. Instead, Darwin was more interested in the survival of the most adaptable. Note: Darwin did not say “survival of the most educated” or “the smartest”. He said the “most adaptable”. The person, plant, or animal that is best able to adapt to an ever-changing environment is always the most likely to survive change.

Guess what? You don’t need me to tell you that the world is changing at an incredibly rapid rate. What can you do? Learn how to think. Learn how to problem solve. Learn how to leverage your values and make the best use of the resources you have. And you do have many resources.

A good coach should be able to help you with all of this. Your coach, if they are any good, should be able to help you solve problems and overcome challenges. Better yet, a good coach will teach you the skills you need to overcome the challenges before you and anything that may appear in the future.

Afterall, you already carry your mind with you everywhere you go. Make it the sharpest, most clever mind you possibly can.