The Power of Positivity During Hunting Season

For me, the self-realization of the Power of Positivity was learned when I started hunting with my buddy Jansen.  When a plan doesn’t come together or I get busted by a long beard, he’s the guy that’ll listen to my complaints and keep me motivated to keep hunting.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to head back to the truck during a turkey hunt, only for Jansen to say it could happen at any second, so don’t give up.

One of our first turkey hunts was a warm spring day, late in the season with the winds howling as we watched the time tick away on the day’s hunt without a gobble to be heard.   Heck, even if they were gobbling, we couldn’t hear them on this day.  Jansen kept calling and drifted off and went to sleep.

After a power nap, it was time to work our way back to the truck.  If it had been up to me, we would’ve been home already, but as we stood up, a flock of turkeys crested the hill and was running in our direction.  We hit the dirt and Jansen called a couple more times before I raised my shotgun and dropped one with just minutes to spare for the day’s hunt.  As we celebrated the last-minute success, I couldn’t help but notice that Jansen’s never-give-up strategy worked!

My wife claims to be my biggest cheerleader and that’s a title that she’s earned.  She’s stood by me as I’ve chased my dreams of turning HuntingGearDeals.com into a full-time business and working from home.  Amanda is great at providing positive reinforcement within the home but when it comes to hunting, she’s not as involved but still provides words of encouragement such as “You’ll get him next time”.

Why is staying positive during hunting season important?

During a recent cross-country road trip to chase whitetails, I found myself hunting a new state during unseasonably warm temperatures while I watched my cellular trail cameras from my home state blow up with big buck photos day after day.  I was a week into my hunt, and the conditions had been far from desirable for the majority of the week.

I finally had enough and loaded the truck up to head home.  I was missing the family and I hadn’t seen a shooter all week.  My confidence was at an all-time low.  I drove straight home, bringing the unseasonable temperatures with me.  A couple of days later, the guy I was hunting with shot a giant.  What I failed to mention is that I left on Tuesday afternoon but a cold front was coming in on Friday.  He killed the buck Saturday morning, just like we anticipated, while I was at home waiting on the warm weather to pass.

Is it OK to take a break from hunting?

I’ll be the first to tell you that you can burn yourself out from hunting, so taking a break might not be a bad idea.  If the conditions aren’t in your favor, go back to work and save your vacation days for a better time.  However, instead of giving up altogether, try a new hunting technique instead.

In Missouri a few years ago, I found myself frustrated with the amount of other hunters on the public land that I was trying to hunt.  Every day it seemed like I’d run into someone different and my patience was running thin.  I bounced from tract to tract, hoping to find a hidden gem deep in the timber but it wasn’t until I changed hunting strategies that I found success.

Instead of hunting the timber, I found some open ground to attempt some spot and stalk hunting in CRP.  I spent the next two days chasing a nice 11-pointer around, finally getting my shot at 40 yards.  The arrow looked perfect as it sailed through the air towards his vitals but little did I know, a small brushy stem would deflect my arrow just enough to prevent a good shot.  This ended up being the highlight of the hunt and I would’ve never had the chance had I given up and gone home, or settled in another location.

But is it ok to take a break?  Absolutely.  Be like Lebron and take a few games off if you start to wear down.  Invest the downtime wisely, answering emails from work or spending time with your loved-ones.  Just don’t quit altogether.  If I’m going to take a break, I prefer to do it when the conditions warrant taking a break. We only get a few perfect days of the season, so don’t waste the opportunity!

Staying Positive Affects Your Life in Multiple Ways

The Power of Positivity impacts your everyday life even more than it does your hunting success.  Looking at life from the glass-half-full perspective provides joy for you and those around you. Nobody likes a Debbie Downer, so be Positive Pete!  All jokes aside, looking at things from a positive perspective gives you more confidence and faith in humanity.  Having the ability to see the best in people allows them the opportunity to be the best that they can be as well.  Positivity breeds confidence as well.

So, How Do I Become More Positive?

This one’s tricky.  Learning to stay positive isn’t something that I can teach you.  Reading a blog or listening to podcasts will not make you a positive person, it’s simply a learned behavior that you must develop on your own.  The best advice I can give you is to find a positive person to keep you on the straight and narrow.  For me, it’s a combination of both.  I have the ability to stay positive until the probability of success decreases to an amount that seems unrealistic, and then I rely on my buddy Jansen to keep me motivated.