Reading My Hitch in Hell helped me put into perspective some petty inconveniences as well as a time of multiple major stresses.
Lester Tenney, a member of a National Guard Company of the U.S. Army 192nd Tank Battalion, arrived in the Philippines on November 21, 1941. The Japanese attacked December 8. As the battle of Bataan progressed, they possessed the will to repel the Japanese. However, they felt let down, even betrayed by the lack of ammunition and guns, troops and equipment, food and medical supplies. As slave POWs, Tenney and many of his fellow soldiers continued to show unconquerable spirits.
Tenny described not only what he lived through but also how he survived the Battle of Bataan, Death March, and enslavement for years in an unsafe Japanese coal mine.
His deliberate decisions included being responsibility for his welfare as much as possible and a positive attitude despite his situation. He set short-term goals—such as reaching the next bend in the road on the march. He also fixed long-term goals—like surviving to tell the story and seeing his parents, siblings, and wife again. Tenny did whatever was necessary to survive with integrity—to stay as healthy as possible despite a starvation diet, diseases, vicious beatings, and little medical treatment or medicine. He developed survival smarts, learned as much of the language of his enemies as possible, and kept mentally active.