Are your preparedness efforts narrow minded?
Let’s find out…
Life–or at least a good one–requires balance. You need work to keep you feeling productive, play to be refreshed, and rest to do it all over again the next day.
It’s often the case that we pick one thing to focus on. That thing is the most exciting and appealing focal point. It also typically becomes a magic bullet in our mind for reaching our end goal.
This single-minded approach is good if our desired outcome is to become great at one thing. However, if it’s the means to a larger goal the strategy lacks balance.
The idea of having balance applies to many aspects of life. This also includes how you prepare.
Several times I’ve fallen victim to the silver bullet mentality–whether it be PUA or survival. Let me save you the trouble and let’s kill the big 7 survival mistakes.
Guns, lots of guns…
As men the instinct to protect ourselves and loved ones is huge. It’s also the one we tend to lean on the most when getting into preparedness.
When I first got into survival it started with guns. There was already an interest in guns–and many years of it. But guns/self-defense
seemed to be the biggest survival concern at first.
I bought a new rifle, handgun, shotgun, lots of ammo, and went to courses. There was hours and hours of time spent fretting over what caliber to buy, what bullets to buy, and what courses to take. Time well spent because I enjoy the topic immensely, but…
All the while I gave little thought and attention to food, water, or what to do with myself if nothing went wrong.
The problem: You can’t eat bullets. Well, you can, but only once. They also won’t keep you warm or give you companionship.
We need security, but not at the cost of everything else. Security, what guns, or any other means of self-defense, provide is only a piece of the puzzle. Remember, there is a bigger picture. This is just one of the tools to achieve that goal.
Self-defense is important, but it’s not all. And guns won’t necessarily mean you can take what you need. The other preppers saw you coming..
Food glorious food…
Food and water are also a piece. But if it’s the lone focus the cost will be at everything else. There will be nothing to keep it safe and in your possession.
This includes seeds–especially if the people buying them haven’t spent much time developing the skill of gardening. Or if they’ve never given full thought to how long it’s going to take.
Food and water are extremely important. Just make sure you have a means to keep, transport, and a place to go with them.
Home is where the heart is…
A common mistake is to place all of ones preps into one location. All of the food, survival tools, and plans are neatly stacked away. The preppers are ready to defend their castle.
What will happen if that location is compromised–either by nature or man? There are many natural forces alone that can render this plan of survival null and void: fire, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, and beavers (just seeing if you are paying attention).
Spread stores around as best you can and include an evacuation route and destination in your plans.
RUN!
If your idea of survival is disappearing to a far off place when things go bad, there are three issues.
First, if it’s remotely near, wherever you’re thinking about going is the same place everyone else is too. The spot will end up looking like a refugee camp. Sanitary issues will ensue. And tensions will run high–at best.
Second, if it’s the only plan you have, life may happen and crush it. In disasters, and other times of calamity, exits tend to get blocked or crammed. You may not be able to get out.
Third, as fans of Emergency now know, far off places are complicated and expensive. The cheapest citizenship I ever found was $50,000 US. This excludes the $150,000 sailboat I was going to need to get there.
Have a bug in plan–just in case.
No man is an island…
To some, a primary focus on isolation is all consuming. What man fears most are other men.
This myopic approach to survival comes with the presumed benefits of escaping violence and or illness. While it does have its benefits, it also has its downsides.
During the time of the Black Death some evacuated to isolated locations–only to still be struck with the sickness. They didn’t know it, but they brought it with them.
In a more modern sense we lose out on the advantage of being close to modern medicine. More likely than any of the doomsday scenarios, a heart attack is the most likely thing to kill us all.
Isolation is a tool not a destination. Use sparingly.
It’s not my problem…
A few days ago I got a phone call from a company that sells bulk ammo and is now carrying bulk freeze-dried food. The purpose of the call was to sell me a year’s supply of freeze-dried food with the bonus of a free gun. When I politely told the salesperson I was fine on all accounts, he remarked, “Wow, I should just come to your house if something bad happens.” I politely replied, “That’s not such a good idea. I did say I was good on all accounts.”
“I’ll just come to your house” is a statement often heard by people in preparedness. Very often in fact. Friends say it, family members say it, and evidently random salespeople say it now too.
It illustrates the preparedness mindset of others will take care of me. It’s a plan–just not a good one.
The plan of someone else will take care of me also extends to Governments. It seems to not matter how many times the contrary is shown. People want to believe something they pay that’s bigger and more powerful will whisk in and make it all better.
It probably will. Just, when it’s safe, clear lines of jurisdiction are established, and the machine has full momentum. It’ll be a beautiful ballet of trash, survivors, and corpse collection–72 to 96 hours later.
Two words: Personal responsibility…
DoOmSdAy
The most disheartening survival sin of all: doomsday is coming.
Preppers have a tendency to pick one thing that scares the crap out of them. Then they obsess over it, obsess, and obsess some more…
It makes sense. Something jolted them into preparation. It’s rare to see someone wake up and suddenly take his or her well being seriously for no reason. We are–after all–self-absorbed lazy creatures. If an issue is not staring us in the face, it’s often relegated to the back of our minds.
The problem is: Doomsday may never come. If all of your money and time go into preparing for something unlikely, and it doesn’t happen, it very well may all be a waste.
What’s the best way to prevent these 7 mistakes? Find balance, cover all your bases and look for things that benefit your life today–as well as keep you alive tomorrow.