The very warm weather this week has put me in mind of my experiences at Tom Brown?s Tracking and Wilderness Survival School a few summers back. For those not acquainted, Tom Brown, Jr., is a renowned expert on traditional Native American tracking and survival techniques and he has authored numerous books on that subject. And for those like myself who want firsthand teaching in the Old Ways, he also offers weeklong classes.

In order to survive in a wilderness environment with little or no equipment, one is required to learn how to forgo the modern comforts that most of us take for granted. During my last foray the heat was in the upper 90?s during the day and the insect activity in the Pine Barrens at that time of year was intense to say the least. This was the background environment while learning how to build shelter and tools as well as find food and water from the forest floor itself.

Yet the skills taught by Tom and his staff do work with some practice and diligence, and everyone who participated felt better for having been through the experience. And while the various hands-on skills were of vital importance, we also learned that there were attitudes that would help decide whether you would be able to handle a true unexpected survival situation.

The first mental skill was encapsulated in a sign Tom had over his chair in the lecture area of our camp. It states simply, ?NO SNIVELING!? Humorous , yet very important.

One of the negative trade-offs in modern life is that we can come to believe that comfort and convenience are somehow our birthright. A few hours without AC or TV and to hear some folks, you would think the world was coming to an end. This attitude can literally be deadly in a survival situation since the energy that could be spent on doing something constructive is being wasted on blaming and complaining.

The concept of ?NO SNIVELING,? need not be confined to being lost in a buggy swamp either. If most of us were to take an honest inventory, would we want to admit how much time we waste in the complaint mode? Especially toxic is the constant retelling of ?OUR STORY,? as to why we cannot make the changes we want to make. "Oh, my parents were cold and distant, the school system let me down, the economy is bad, its those damn Republicans/Democrats, etc."

The plain truth is that no one is going to hear ?OUR STORY,? wave a magic wand and make things all better. Yet we can form a clear mental picture of what we want, set a strong intention to do what is necessary and refuse to waste any precious energy or time on whining, sniveling or complaining. Consider working with a qualified hypno-counselor to get past the mental blocks that keep holding you back. Yes you can become smoke-free, thinner and more confident. Who knows, you may even be able to get a campfire started without matches or a lighter!

P.S. - A great stay cool trick for this time of year is to put a clean sprig of lightly crushed mint in your water bottle. Mint is an herb that has cooling effect on the body.

I came across an amazing e-book by the Heart Math Foundation (HMF) that I thought you might be interested in. It is entitled ?Managing Emotions: The Next Frontier in Golf? and it describes an innovative way of coupling relaxation and positive emotions in order to maximize athletic performance (or excellence in any field for that matter).

Frankly, I think it is better than any of the other dozen or so book I have read on sports psychology and at just $9.95 it is a steal. The HMF have also developed some excellent stress management software (the Freeze-Framer), that is somewhat pricey yet highly effective. In fact, I use it as part of my daily routine. To learn more about the golf book and other HMF offerings, please visit: