Hello my friend and welcome back! In today’s post, we are going to take a look at the Illusion of being prepared and how to avoid it, because it is just that, an illusion. This should be an interesting post and I hope you enjoy it, so grab a cup of coffee and have a seat while we visit.
Every day I get emails from people all over the world who seem utterly convinced that they are completely ready for anything that could possibly happen in the world today. One reader even boasted that he was so well prepared that he could survive for 5 years all by himself without any assistance from anyone. Personally, in my humble opinion, if you spent 5 years by yourself, you may still be breathing, but you most certainly would not be right in the head! Isolation has that effect on humans and it is something that you need to consider if you are considering going the “Lone Wolf” route for survival. As humans, we have a strong need for companionship. Even if you don’t like people, you still need someone to talk to and someone who will talk back even if you don’t agree with what they are saying. It is just as much of a need and just as important as food and water are for long term survival and you need to prepare for it as well.
Some people say they are ready because they have all of this food and equipment stored up and are ready to survive anything. However when I asked them when was the last time they took out any of that equipment and practiced with it, they replied that they don’t need to because they have all of the instructions packed up with the equipment. Wow! If you think for one minute that just having instructions on how to use something will suffice after SHTF hits, then you are fooling yourself. Why is that? Why? Because the instructions that come with items is neither always complete nor accurate. What if you open the package and some of the pieces are missing? What if they require additional parts that you didn’t know they needed? What if there was a manufacturer defect? There are a ton of things that can go wrong if you wait until you really need something before you try to use it. Always practice with each piece of equipment you buy for your preps and don’t wait until your life depends on it to try to figure it out.
Another big misconception that I run across is the belief that camping and survival is the same thing. Nothing could be further from the truth and the sooner you realize that, the better off you will be. In the world, you have all kinds of things like ready to eat food, clean water, and shelter to protect you from the elements. If you get hurt, you just load up and drive to the nearest Dr. In the world of survival, life is seldom like that and your life depends on making the right decisions the first time. Have you ever actually purified water for drinking? Do you know CPR or emergency first aid and if so, when was the last time you practiced it? No, the only thing that camping and survival have in common is that they both take place outdoors. Thinking you can survive simply because you have been camping a few times or even a lot, will get you killed and that is the hard facts of life.
Another illusion is the belief that you can do things by simply figuring them out when SHTF hits. It doesn’t work that way in the real world. If you get lost in the forest, are you just going to sit on the ground and magically learn how to navigate using a compass? No my friend, you need to learn all the skills now that you will need when SHTF. Take the time now to learn the skills you will need then. Red Cross offers free or little cost courses on CPR and first aid and there are many nonprofit organizations that offer free training in different things. You can also look for survival training in your area as there are many people who hold training camps all over the US. Learn everything you can and once you do, practice it often. Well I guess that is it for today and I hope you have enjoyed it as well. Just remember that any time you think you are completely ready for anything, it is only an illusion and you need to keep preparing. Until next time, stay safe, stay strong and stay prepared! God Bless America!
-The Sargent-
All good points, and ones that people should heed. I took military survival training when I was in, but I still go out once a year with nothing but my clothes, a tin cup and a knife – and stay out a week. I regularly re-familiarize myself with my equipment and have taken basic and advanced first aid courses every few years to keep those skills honed. I also regularly rotate my supplies and have three Bug-out plans (which I practice yearly) and two different Bug-out locations – which I’ll only use if ‘hunkering down’ becomes nonviable for whatever reason.
I, like some of the others, sometimes feel that I can get along just fine without other people, especially since I don’t like a lot of the people that I meet. However, maybe it is not in our best interest to be closed minded about interaction after an event. Right now we can look at all possibilities without being forced to act one way or another because of some catastrophe. For some, it may be OK to be a “lone wolf” but some of us could be kidding ourselves. Now is the time to be “objective” and make good decisions, because right now for most of us, there isn’t anything “on the line”.
Well said Michael! 🙂
I can relate… I like myself… many others I like not so much. I’ve always survived well as a lone wolf. I can rest assured I won’t steal from myself, won’t go unprepared and then turn on those who are prepared as many will post shtf, and because I hold myself responsible for my mistakes and successes, and I don’t ignore my ignorance or stupidity and lay it off on others.
some people seem to need companionship, if someone is one of these get a dog! a dog will keep you saner than any human will.
the problems will start will the actions of other humans and this is what we will have to watch out for.
personally speaking, the further I am away from other people the happier I will be.
Totally agree. But I DO like my dog
Practice does make perfect. I have practiced with most of my equipment and CPR on my wife every night Lol. But one piece of equipment I haven’t practiced with is a fishing yoyo. I have always used a rod and reel but I have both in the bugout bag. One day Sarge I will use it!!! Good post.
excellent post