It is quite easy to be caught up in the excitement. You just watched a marathon of Doomsday Preppers on television and you feel an overwhelming need to get started Prepping. There is an irresistible craving to take action now, you can tell a crisis is looming, you can just feel it. That tingle of excitement means you are ready for action and you begin pacing thinking about where to begin.
Before rushing out and loading up on water, gear, beans, bullets and blankets however, you have to get your mind right. You have to sit down and ask yourself if you are you ready to take responsibility for the well-being of yourself and family during a crisis and frankly be responsible at all times.
Relying on and hoping for, the local, state or federal government to show up with supplies during a catastrophe is not being responsible for your own well-being and that of your family. Once you are willing to be responsible you have to ask yourself “Do I have the means to take care of my family during a crisis”.
Do you have the skill sets, knowledge and practical experience required to perform certain tasks. You may not have certain skill sets and knowledge however, but knowledge is obtainable through various venues and practicing with that knowledge will give you practical experience.
However, not only must you have the capacity to learn new skills you must be able to apply what you have learned in real life situations, not just during practice, so can you do it, can you make the commitment.
Can you make decisions when there is no one else to consult, decisions that can have life altering consequences. If yes to all of the above then it is time to get started.
A Crisis is Looming So Drop the Remote Control and Get Busy Prepping
A calamity is just around the corner and some that has been paying attention have been calmly and some not so calmly preparing for it.
Iran is racing toward a nuclear weapon and no one with any intellectual honesty believes the country wants one just to show it off to all their friends and neighbors.
Some people are comparing (mistakenly) a nuclear Iran with the cold war between the United States and the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the Soviet Union) now simply called Russia. Nuclear weapons were not used during the cold war because of “mutually assured destruction”.
One country launches a missile and then the target country launches one in retaliation. No one wins when there is an exchange of nuclear warheads. There would not be anyone left on either side to count the dead.
Iran however may be willing to kill millions and have millions of their people killed all in the name of religion. Iran may very well want to make martyrs out every citizen in their country. Reasoning, facts, and diplomacy along with threats of mutual destruction have no affect on fanatics.
Fanatic: (noun) a holder of extreme or irrational enthusiasms or beliefs, especially in religion or politics
On the other hand, they may be convinced that no other country would retaliate if they launched a nuclear device, but where oh where might they have gotten that idea.
Iran has stated numerous times publicly that they want to wipe certain other countries off the map. Doubt them at your own peril.
Saran gas by the tons is literally lying around warehouses all over the Middle East, supposedly being monitored and on the list to be destroyed but, there is always a “but” and this time it is a big but. Who really knows how accurate the tally is. A few canisters here, a few there what is the big deal. The big deal is a drop of saran gas that could fit on a pinhead is enough to kill you, so how many drops in a few pounds of saran gas.
The above stated possibilities are only the tip of the iceberg.
Prepping Day 1
You are probably already researching on the Internet and trying to remember some of the information from some of the reality shows. It is recommended however, that you do not assume that everything you read or see on television is completely accurate or applicable to your situation.
You must research carefully and verify all information, use common sense and show some skepticism when reading some of the information out there.
A perfect example of not taking what you see on television at face value is the following headline.
Pierce County ‘Doomsday Prepper’ arrested on weapons charges
The individual in question was featured on the reality show ‘Doomsday Preppers”, and was arrested because he was felon in possession of a firearm. He was filmed handling and loading weapons and local police promptly arrested him after viewing the episode.
The self-proclaimed Prepper was also quoted as saying he would rob other Preppers at gunpoint when the SHTF, which also did not set well with the local police or his neighbors, whom some expressed fear of him and some had even contacted the local authorities about the individual (Kerns, 2014).
The individual also claimed he had homemade body armor that was better than any professionally made bullet resistant vests that you could buy.
Imagine if he had not been arrested, and had actually sold or had given away some of the so-called best body armor to people whom at some point might have trusted their lives to it.
Envision some people new to prepping becoming convinced by the individual implying on national television that all they needed was a closet full of firearms to survive a disaster. Some impressionable people may assume from watching the show that when the lights go out, laws and rules go out as well and that there are no boundaries during crisis.
This type of Prepper is more dangerous to the local community than the disaster itself.
Verify and never make impulse purchases in the heat of the moment.
There is a mindset out there, though a very small minority that believes to survive a crisis all you need is a firearm so you can take what you need from others at gunpoint instead of working hard to prepare the right way.
Waning Excitement
By now, some of the excitement may be wearing off and you may begin to have second thoughts about the whole notion of prepping. It seems to you that prepping is a lot of work and expensive, not to mention time consuming.
You like many others want quick results and are hesitant to work hard, spend money and stockpile emergency supplies, materials and equipment on the notion “something may happen”. When would you get to “play with all that gear” is another question you may have. You hate the thought of spending hard-earned money on things that can only be used during a crisis that in your mind has not clearly defined itself, what about now you ask yourself.
Prepping Is an Investment in Your Future
You have to remember that the preparations you do now are an investment in your family’s as well as your own survival in the future. You can mitigate the economic impact by not getting in a hurry and doing a little at a time. Help yourself by carefully planning and developing skills and gaining knowledge so you do not need as much gear and equipment to survive. You will need skills and knowledge that can be used to replace the technology that will likely not be available during a calamity.
A Change Of Heart
You have decided, after finding a few websites that actually discuss prepping from an average person’s viewpoint, to give it another chance. After all, you tell yourself you are prepping for all disasters.
If you were to be honest with yourself, you became caught up in the excitement of government troops marching house-to-house or black helicopters circling overhead. The television shows and some of the websites dramatized or even made the prepping culture seem romantic to some extent.
Preppers are the rebels of today you thought at first but now realize they are everyday people that are thinking ahead because they know that when the SHTF there is no one to count on but yourself and if you are not ready you will not survive.
You also have redefined “Doomsday” to mean any disaster, such as hurricanes, blizzards, tornadoes and yes even when the country’s financial system collapses, nuclear war, as well as, a super volcano or 10.0-magnitude earthquake. You understand now that being prepared must be a state that is always maintained and not just when an extreme weather event is forecasted.
Now you can truly start to call yourself a Prepper.
Kerns, J. (2014, January 16). Retrieved 2014, from http://mynorthwest.com/11/2433938/Pierce-County-Doomsday-Prepper-arrested-on-weapons-charges