Have you ever found yourself interested in, or curious about, hunting? No? Doesn’t matter, I was watching a favorite show of mine and found myself floored by what the narrator had to say about mindset. The series “Meat Eater,” with Steve Rinella, features his commentary and experiences about nature and hunting. He was born a hunter and says he lives for, and off of, the land.

So what floored me? Season 9, Episode 4, hunting elk out of Wyoming, he discussed the long game of hunting, the dichotomy of success and failure, and how everything can change in an instant. Hunting is a game of patience. And with patience, comes the wandering monkey mind which drifts to thoughts of pointlessness and comfort. But that’s what makes hunting so exciting, the anticipation and how the hunt can change in the matter of an instance.

“It is easy to get pessimistic and discouraged as the days tick by. The key, at least for me, is to go ahead and let yourself feel like a pessimist but never ever let yourself start acting like a pessimist. A pessimist brain is fine as long as it’s paired with the boots of an optimist.” – Steve Rinella

Pessimism tends to be quite negative. But we may be too quick to judge it as ineffective. Existence of pessimism as a thought, part of a process, or even a mild tendency can all be developed into a force for change. It helped us build communities, root out bad eggs, and keep us alive when we were primitive. The key is to begin acting different then our brains and bodies tend to react in situations where we are uncomfortable. We can do this through mindfulness, pause and choice. Remember a thought is simply that, a thought. We can use that to inform possible future outcomes but then use, to Steve’s quote, optimistic boots to live a life which produces positive outcomes. The hunt ended as a success by the way.