Tuesday, February 17, 2026
10.1 C
Las Vegas

4 Powerful Traits of Survivors

Survival gear, technology, and fancy gadgets mean nothing if you lose the will to survive. When it comes to surviving horrific situations, one thing often separates those who live from those who die, and it has nothing to do with gear.

There are some common personality traits that we find when studying survivors. The following is a list of the 4 most common traits of people who have survived under extraordinary circumstances.

1. Survivors Stay Calm in the Face of Danger.

A survivalist has the ability to stay calm in the face of whatever life may throw at him. It’s not that the survivor is without fear, instead he has the courage to face his fears. To be able to stay calm in the face of danger requires preparation & training. The more training and knowledge you have, the easier it is to stay calm during any survival situation.

2. Survivalists are Experts at Improvisation

Survivors can find a use for everything around them. They know how to pick gear with multiple purposes, and they know how to improvise when they find themselves without the needed tools or gear. Survivors  have the ability to make fire without matches, find water where there are no faucets, and find food where there are no stores.

3. Survivors are D.I.Y Experts

They are the ultimate tinkerers. In day to day life, the survivalist will find a way to fix something that’s broken, before running off to Walmart to buy a new one. These skills are crucial during an emergency situation.

4. Survivors are Great Leaders

They know how to make the tough decisions that will keep the people around them alive. During an emergency situation, while most are panicking and making stupid mistakes, a survivalist will stop, assess the situation, and then take action. They are the ultimate leaders!

Hot this week

Liquor for Preppers: Which liquors are best to stockpile for preparedness?

During a long-term disaster situation, liquor will be a very valuable resource. From bartering and economic reasons to health and medicinal uses, liquor is one of those items that should be part of any good preparedness stockpile.

Economic Storm? Deficits, Bankruptcies, and the AI Revolution That Could Change Everything

Record debt. Rising bankruptcies. A stock market detached from reality. Now add AI that can replace entire teams overnight. Add to that deficits near $2T yearly—the storm is here. Prepare before it hits hard.

Tarp Shelters: The Best Lightweight Option for Backpacking, Hiking & Wilderness Survival

A good tarp is both lighter and cheaper than the even the lightest of tents and has a number of advantages that make it much more attractive to light backpackers.

SHOT Show 2026 – Latest Gear, Where to Go in Vegas & the Best Networking Events of the Year

The ultimate guide to SHOT Show 2026 in Las Vegas: massive exhibitors, cutting-edge firearms & survival gear, plus our exclusive party list for networking events, after-parties, and must-attend meetups during SHOT Week.

Offline Knowledge Hubs: Building Your Own Digital Survival Library

Power out. Internet gone. AI-generated noise everywhere. This guide shows how to build an offline survival library you can actually use.

Topics

Portable Backpacking Camp Stoves for Preppers

Real-world recommendations on the best lightweight backpacking stoves for preppers, hikers, and wilderness adventures.

Best Survival Books: Top Prepper Reads to Master Survival

Having a good survival book is almost as important as having the right gear. Check out our list of the best ones ever written.

Top Solar Generators, Power Packs, and Emergency Solar Solutions

From powering flashlights, emergency radios, and GPS devices to providing emergency backup power to your home during a disaster, these are some of the top emergency power options on the market.

Best Tactical Flashlights: Our Favorite Tactical Flashlights Reviewed

Don’t just settle for any crappy little flashlight, you want to look for one that can serve multiple survival purposes – enter the Tactical Flashlight.

Survival Lighters: The Top Weatherproof, Windproof, and Waterproof Lighters

A survival lighter should be weatherproof, windproof and waterproof; here are the top lighters on the market.

The Best Portable Survival Water Filters: Ensuring you have Safe Drinkable Water

During a disaster, even municipal water sources can quickly become contaminated. Here are the best backpacking water filters.

Discreet Survival Backpacks for Bug Out Disasters

The Gray Man Approach: Discreet Urban Carry Backpacks that don’t raise any red flags during times of crisis.

Picking the Best Survival Knife: Reviews of our Top Fixed Blade Survival Knives

The top Survival knives on the market. Here is the list of our favorite fixed blade survival knives after years of testing and abuse.
The Ultimate Situational Survival Guide

Related Articles

TPrepper Radio: The No-BS Ham Radio Technician Exam Prep Guide


The Ultimate Situational Survival Guide

Popular Categories

Survival Book

Comments

17 COMMENTS

  1. Good article.Several other traits to add, that I think are important: a will to survive, willing to go the “extra mile” effort wise to solve problems, even when you don’t have the energy to do it, and finally, to assess the situation from a “worst case scenerio” and plan and respond accordingly.

  2. Granted you survive the intial disaster or what ever it is that poses the threat. I was in Japan for the earthquake, been deployed , been through some big wild fires, just never know where you’ll be standing when it goes down ??????????

    • No matter how prepared you might think you are, you can’t forsee every disaster that may possibly befall you. Doing the best you can with what you have is all anyone can hope for. Eventually, something is going to get us because we never get out of life alive.:-)

  3. I have been saying this for years, when the shtf, the men and women that will be worth there weight in water will be the ones that can make due with any surroundings. Ive been a jack of all trades and I am forever learning different skills.

  4. Trying to find a place to live where I can make the choice to live a simplistic life style without intervention of some city slicker telling me I must pay for Highway dept. impact fees in the thousands of $ and I must live in a recyled budwieser can not the traditional Hogan I want to build to suit my needs not theirs.

  5. Survivors are doing it, not talking about doing it. Everyone likes to read and plan about ‘when’ the shit hits the fan. It is now. If you aren’t prepared now, you aren’t prepared.

    • Agreed! Also, the “not talking about doing it” is a key factor of survival.
      I must admit, as an afterthought that posting on these sites is subjecting each of use to scrutiny.
      Posting requires an email, who is controlling the list and “Will not be published” is still being gathered in someones database.
      Better to keep your ears and eyes and mind open, and your mouth shut and fingers from typing revealing posts!!
      Enough said, damage done, time for damage control… signing off!

      • Mike – Eagle Eye is real. They already know. The point has come where we all need to just say what needs to be said. Keeping people cowering is how they keep control. Survivors don’t cower. Positive energy can’t gain critical mass if it’s kept hidden in the closet. Survivors take every opportunity to plant seeds of awareness.

        • Oh yes. Call it Eagle Eye or Big Brother (Orwellian, not CBS), I am all too much aware of the information gathering being done to every person with an email account, bank account, cell phone, hard phone, or any utility bill or credit card in their name.
          If you ever had a security clearance the fed probably knows the first time you took a solid dump as a baby! They just have to fill in some holes here and there.
          The optics available from the satellites are phenomenal… they tell you they can read the fine print of a newspaper… if that is what they tell you, you have to know it’s much better.
          I might have been born at night, just not last night!
          I’m not cowering, just trying to minimize the target on my back so it is not as big as the person next to me… kind of like “I don’t have to run faster than the Grizzly Bear, just faster than you!” I am not in the best shape, but I am getting there and definitely in better shape than a lot of the couch potato armchair self-proclaimed “experts” (no offense David Sarti, you already put yourself in the limelight)

  6. I totally agree with this article, I think that the traits of a good leader as well as a person with a tinkering gene both lead to being calm under stress. Confident people with practiced skills can normally step back and deal with situations outside their comfort zone. Thanks for posting this article.

    • Surviving from being restricted about everything that humans inspire and need, is the real survivor matter.
      When you don’t have a voice, you are already dead.Keeping that voice inside you and believing that even without speaking, there are a lots of people listening and speaking to you, will help to survive.

  7. This sounds like a bunch of sh*t. BTW, survivors need weapons? They aren’t gonna be of much help when you get your socks wet. You confuse “off the grid” with “in the deep end”.

    • You’re not the only one. In the past few years I’ve gotten more and more into it, only to find out its what I’ve been taught most of my life. Not everyone is/was a Boy Scout. I was, and I thank god for it. The Most useful piece of advice i feel i can give you is, is learn all you can. Find an old BSA handbook or PDF if you’re able. They did it better back in the day than the watered down version we teach kids now.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Survival Book