Written By: James Moffitt

Every hunting season brings a series of highs and lows. Each year, I promise myself I’ll be more even-keel, more methodical, and more focused, but it never seems to work out that way. There are days that feel perfect– where I can hardly sleep, skipping breakfast to get in a tree an hour before I need to be. There are days where the cold, the wind, the alarm clock, and the fact that I haven’t seen a deer in two weeks make it feel like I’ll never enjoy a venison dog again. But, I think that’s part of what makes hunting so incredible. It’s a chance to practice experiencing emotions in something that, compared to many other things in life, is pretty low stakes. 

As someone who’s struggled with anxiety, learning to change my perspective on events happening to and around me has been crucial to better manage my emotions. A few years ago, I began engaging with stoic teachings as part of a larger approach to re-wiring my lizard brain to power down my sympathetic nervous system in favor of a ‘rest and digest’ method, strengthening those neural connections necessary to truly change the way I experience stimuli and emotions.

Recently, I decided to apply these same stoic lessons to hunting. This season was particularly tumultuous. I killed the biggest buck of my life. I learned a ton and saw new skills put into practice pay off. I was also abruptly kicked off my best lease. I struggled with having to secure new permissions, trying to keep up with work, getting sick right at the start of the rut, and dealing with all of the other challenges that hunting presents. You could say I had an awful season in a lot of ways. You could say I had an incredible season. It all depends on perspective. 

So, with that in mind, here are three stoic teachings that will greatly benefit your hunting season.

“Get back up when you fail. Celebrate behaving like a human.”- Marcus Aurelius

Perfectionism is a problem. The majority of outdoor media shows hunters in the best gear, tromping around idyllic landscapes chasing monster bucks. But for many of us, that’s not the case. Perfect isn’t a reality. 

I noticed that I had the tendency to hold all of my hunts to a golden standard that frankly, wasn’t achievable. A buckle was going to clang on my climbing stick. I was going to forget something in the truck. I would bump deer on the way in. I would miss a perfect 20-yard broadside shot. It’s the nature of, well, nature. 

This quote from Marcus Aurelius isn’t about just getting up and dusting off when you fail. We’ve all heard that sentiment enough that it’s lost its luster. 

What the great stoic is saying here, is to lean into the pursuit. Accept your failings and accept the fact that they are part of the path to success. Be it unlocking a new piece of public or shooting a wall hanger, lean into being human, making mistakes, and accepting what comes your way, no matter how it happens.

“People are not disturbed by things but by the views they take of them.” - Epictetus

To the stoics feeling pain, being insulted, or feeling attacked by things outside of their control was a choice. Losing my best lease this season definitely felt like a personal attack at first. After all, I’d spent years building a relationship with the landowner. I had paid good money to be there and I had always been a steward of the land and the resource.

None of that mattered though when the landowner’s long-time friends decided that they didn’t like seeing me killing deer on the trail cameras they have plastered all over the property. Just like that, I was out. And it stung. Not only had I lost a great property, but I felt like a friend had done me dirty.

This quote from the stoic Epictetus helped me reframe the situation. In the end, I was only insulted if I chose to be. It was only a raw deal if I saw it that way. As I searched for new leases, I actively tried to reframe what had happened in my mind. It wasn’t a disappointment, it was an opportunity. Now, I could explore new places, I could practice more scouting techniques, and could give up a hunting crutch that I’d been using my whole hunting career- a spot that I knew produced deer. 

As I began to shift my perspective, the sting of the event went away. The clouds lifted. I began to feel like my season was back on track instead of finishing just a week into rifle. A couple of weeks later, I killed a respectable basket six on a new property. Just like that, the weight of that old lease was gone and I was into something new.

“We suffer more in imagination than in reality.”-Seneca

Seneca’s message here is simple: do the thing you’re scared to do. My anxiety has prevented me from doing a lot of things. Your mind floods with what if’s. What if I get hurt? What if I get lost exploring this new property? What if, what if?

In reality, you can’t afford not to. This is a mentality I tried to embrace this season as I forced myself out of my comfort zone and deeper into the woods, higher up the tree, and further away from what I knew. 

The results were incredible. 

Early on as I was exploring deeper and deeper into a new lease, I found what I can only describe as a deer highway. An old footpath at the top of a saddle held a muddy section that was absolutely littered with tracks. 

I never would have known it existed if I had given in to my imaginary troubles and stuck to hunting the trees and areas I knew. The first time I hung there, I was greeted by a group of does not thirty minutes later. The next evening, another group of does. The following morning, a tall four-point became the first deer I’d ever killed with a muzzleloader.

Having an unshakeable mentality can be tough. Sometimes, you’re just going to be caught off guard. It’s how we react in these moments that matter the most. The art of stoicism tells us to be present with the trouble, to take a moment to think, and to react from a mindful and conscious place. I know next season, I’ll be carrying these learnings with more confidence as I walk into the deer woods and start the whole process all over again.