EP 471: Ara Megerdichian on Mental Toughness & Enduring a Tough Hunt

Ara Megerdichian is one of the instructors at MTN Tough here in Bozeman. He happens to be one of the best motivational speakers I know, namely because he has a unique history that has molded him into a very mentally tough individual. Ara is a retired army ranger officer who has lead many soldiers and has also taught at West Point. In this podcast Ara and I talk about grinding through when the going gets tough. We also talk about decision fatigue how how to train yourself to avoid burnout. There comes a time both in hunting and in entrepreneurship where burnout  can effect our judgement calls. As someone who has been there on more than one occasion Ara has some guidance on the matter. Show Notes:  Intro – Overview – 0:02:37 Advice Balancing Family, Life, & Hunting – 0:12:38 Tightening the Shot Group & Self – 0:21:09 Decision Fatigue & Mind Training – 0:30:45 Advice on Mental Toughness – 1:00:48 Stillness & Time Management – 1:11:10 Inspiration, Creativity, & Burnout – 1:19:07 Final Advice – 1:25:51 Ara’s Book – 1:39:42 Todays podcast is made possible by ON X. I am a huge supporter of On X and use their mapping system constantly whether it is hunting season or not. Today I want to a quick pro tip for using your On X map in the field. Personally I use the On X app on my phone as my navigation, reference, hunt planner you name it. Obviously this is situation dependent and I want to be very clear about this I would only use only my phone in situations I am VERY confident in and feel that land navigation will be a zero issue if my phone mysteriously dies completely.  One way I reduce decision fatigue on a hunt is by using the line distance tool in On X to plan out routes or hunts I want to check out. In the same way I may use the Area Shape tool to highlight zones or timber patches I want to check out. This may seem simple but on day 6 or 7 of a tough hunt I have often been able to look back at my maps and quickly come up with a game plan that I forgot about. Just a quick pro tip and again if you don’t have On X I highly recommend giving it a download. Use code TRO and save yourself 20%.