When you’re traveling, whether for business or adventure, things don’t always go as planned. Flights get canceled, the weather turns bad, the gear fails, and people get hurt. In high-stress situations, especially in unfamiliar or remote environments, being able to think tactically can make the difference between chaos and control. 

What I am going to do in this article is drop you into a scenario and teach you how to think so that you can apply this mental framework to any potential emergency. In this particular scenario, you’re in a remote wilderness area, cut off from normal communication, and someone needs to be rescued. It’s up to you to make a plan and execute it under pressure.