Garry, what you are describing is putting yourself through a “Mini Ranger School” as described by Ranger! I would offer one caution for less experienced folks; don’t deprive yourself of water. If you’re inexperienced you can KILL yourself. You can easily and more safely create a stressfull environment by depriving yourself of food and sleep. However, I think it’s great that you push yourself. It’s amazing how much more our bodies can do/take than we think. It is all about mental toughness in my view.

Ranger, In my version of the story the stump would have turned out to be another Ranger Student who fell asleep and I thought he was a stump, because I was droning! Seriously though, Ranger School was certainly the place I learned about morale and how important the little things can be.

Rule #1 is something everyone should consider in their planning! Seems like common sense, but we don’t issue common sense, do we Lt? : )

Rule #2 cannot be overstated. Morale/hope is soooooo important. Human beings can survive incredible things but their mind has to push them to do it. Once they give up, they’re done.
I was on a patrol in U. S. Army Ranger School, we were tired, wet, hungry, miserable. One of my squad members was on his last leg. I was afraid he would quit. I had a package of caramel squares from an MRE I had saved in my pocket. As we moved through a wooded area I left one of the caramel squares on a stump and motioned his attention to the stump. When he got to the stump and found the treat I had left, his whole demeanor changed. His face lit up and he pushed on. Because of a small cube of candy!!