There’s plenty of stuff for a prepper to worry about these days, but only so much we can do to take control of our future. We can’t do much about the war in Ukraine spreading to other European countries. The protesters and leftists are beyond our control regardless of how we vote. We can’t make China have peaceful intentions. There’s nothing anyone can do about the next natural disaster, be it a fire, flood, hurricane, or earthquake. And we sure as hell can’t do anything about the mysterious interstellar object 3I/ATLAS that is passing through our solar system.
While there are dozens of threats we cannot control, there is one thing we can control: ourselves. You can control how you react during and how you act after a SHTF situation. In turn, you can influence how those around you behave. By being prepared, you can face uncertainty with greater confidence. By being trained, you can address situations that others cannot. If you have war gamed things out in advance, you can remain calm while those about you panic.
This is what it means to have a survivalist mindset. Stocking up? Good idea. Having experience cooking over an open fire and setting up your water filter is even better. So is knowing your family will eat the food you have stored and that you have enough to share with others. Testing your preps and your plans will make them better and increase your survival when the SHTF.
Training Makes a Difference
Planning to defend yourself with a firearm? When was the last time you trained? I don’t mean shot at a target, but when did you last run drills? Did you shoot from cover and while moving? Did you shoot your pistol one-handed and from 40 to 50 yards or only in a static position at a target ten yards away? What about shooting your rifle from both shoulders around left and right corners? Was reloading included in your drills? Did you transition from rifle to pistol? Were others included in your training so that you can work together?
If you have a bugout bag, when was the last time you walked five or ten miles carrying it? Heck, when was the last time you walked five or ten miles? Have you grown complacent? Do you think you will rise to the occasion when the SHTF? When was the last time you went through your BoB and made sure your water purification tablets had not expired or your granola bars hadn’t been eaten by a mouse? (I lost Snickers bars to a mouse once.)
If you plan to garden, when was the last time you put a seed in the ground and successfully harvested fruits or vegetables? If you plan to cut wood to heat your home, when was the last time you started your chainsaw? How high is your confidence that your generator will start when you pull the cord?
Living the Life
Prepping is more than a closet full of supplies; it should be integral in the way you choose to live your life. When the kids were young, our family vacations often included a prepping component, like camping. When we went on road trips, we’d take the back roads, just so we knew how to do it.
Carrying a gun is another lifestyle choice. It will affect everything from what you wear to where you go to dinner. Sadly, it may affect friendships, but it may also build some new ones. It takes a commitment and the right equipment, but you will then have greater control over your personal safety.
Gardening, raising livestock, heating with wood, pressure canning, hunting, and cooking from scratch are all lifestyle choices that will help you be better prepared. Instead of setting aside time to train in how to use your pressure canner, can foods until it becomes second nature. When you already live this lifestyle, you won’t feel the loss of civilization in a SHTF event as much as the person who goes out to eat or gets food delivered most nights.
Financial Collapse
As pressing as the possibility of war in Europe or war with China is, I think the greater threat to our way of life is that of hyperinflation, a collapsing dollar, and the failure of our banking/economic system. We can keep kicking the debt can down the road for a while, but not forever. That’s another disaster in the making we cannot control. All we can do is control how we prep for it and how we react to it when the money in our bank account is worthless. And since I cover preparing for inflation frequently, I’ll just give three brief points:
- Own hard assets
- Stay employed and/or have multiple income streams
- Have enough food to feed yourself when the shelves are empty
Many of the threats I mentioned at the start of this post take place in Europe or elsewhere. Many are regional and affect only a small part of the population. A dollar collapse, on the other hand, will be felt around the world. Even countries that have tried to limit their reliance on the dollar will suffer because the dollar is the key currency for so much global trade and is in the reserves of almost every country. When the dollar hurts, everyone will feel the pain. This is why I think it may be one of the worst catastrophes we might face.
Flexibility, Adaptability and Resilience
When surprised by change, many people react badly. Often, they can’t believe “this” has happened to them. You can overcome this by expecting change. By mapping out what disasters might occur and planning what you would do under those circumstances, you give yourself a leg up when the SHTF.
Any kind of global disaster is going to be ugly, brutal and dangerous. Whether it is deadly or can be survived depends in part on your behavior, your ability to adapt as the situation changes, and your resilience.
One technique is to acknowledge that the current status is not permanent but is a temporary period between chaos and anarchy. You may find yourself facing one or the other without warning. Have a plan, the gear you need, and a team, and you will be better than 98 percent of the population. Be flexible and ready to change your actions when the circumstances you find yourself in change. Don’t mourn what was until you are safe and secure in what is. Have a few core beliefs and find solace and support in them.
Preppers often say, Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. I would say, Expect the worst, and you will never be disappointed.
