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What Survival Experts Say About Quarantine Baking
It’s all about competence, confidence, and control
In 2017, right before I embarked on my career as a freelance writer, I traveled to Yosemite National Park for a four-day solo trip along the John Muir Trail. While I was a frequent hiker and camper, I had been backpacking only once before in my life, and I had certainly never done it by myself.
The two challenges I was facing — backpacking and starting a business of one — seemed unrelated at the time. But I now realize that my subconscious rationale was that if I could survive in the woods by myself, surely I could survive professionally and economically on my own.
It’s not really about being able to build a fire or carry a heavy pack over long distances, it’s a general feeling of competence that imbues you with a sense of confidence.
Although the link is tenuous, survival psychologist Sarita Robinson, PhD, a principal lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire in the United Kingdom, says the connection between conquering a physical challenge and a mental challenge makes sense. “[You] have that satisfaction and knowledge that, ‘If I was under pressure, I could actually cope with…
