Final answer:
Tom employs a mental strategy of focusing on the immediate tasks to safely move along the ledge, which mirrors the idea of concentrating on positive forward progress rather than underlying motivations.
Step-by-step explanation:
The mental strategy that Tom uses to get himself to move along the ledge is focusing on the immediate tasks at hand rather than the underlying motivations or potential consequences of his action. This approach is similar to the idea presented by Robert Cohen, where a person's thoughts are more on overcoming obstacles and achieving the immediate goal, as opposed to analyzing the motivations behind their actions. Tom, like the character fleeing from a bear, is preoccupied with the actions necessary to progress (in his case, moving safely along the ledge) rather than why he is in that predicament. In doing so, his mental strategy is to maintain positive forward progress without dwelling on the potential dangers or the fact that the task might be challenging or lengthy.