Thoughts On Getting Started In Preparedness

from Preparing Your Family by Rudy Kearney

Preparedness is a mindset.  You have to realize that getting prepared isn’t a one-time thing.  It’s a fundamental shift to the way that you think and the way that you live your life.
And honestly, everyone is different and everyone will have a different level of preparedness that they’re comfortable with.  And there’s nothing wrong with that at all!
Preparedness is a way of life that’s different from what our society considers to be normal today.  It wasn’t always like this.  If you look back in history, most people were prepared for a broad variety of events as a rule.
But today it’s rather rare for someone to be prepared for random events or emergencies.  In fact, if people know that you are a ‘Prepper’ they will often look at you like you’re crazy. And this can be a problem for you.
It’s important to not look at preparedness as something that is just getting ready for the Zombie Armageddon.  Realize that you’re more likely to lose your job or get into a car wreck than for the Zombie Armageddon to finally hit us.

Don’t Be Hasty If You’re New To Preparedness!

If you’re just getting started with emergency and disaster preparedness, I know that you’re feeling pretty excited about getting prepared.
You’re going to want to share your new views and opinions and knowledge with the world.  But I want to caution you to be careful about that for two reasons.
The first reason is the old fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper.  You know the story.  The grasshopper plays all summer while the ant works hard at putting away food for the winter.
The winter comes and the grasshopper comes to demand that the Ant share.  You don’t want this to happen to you.
The second reason is a bit more pragmatic.  If people know you have preps, they may tell others, and you could have a swarm of people on your doorstep in an emergency situation.
Or worse yet, you could be accused of hoarding.  Not a good day.
So be extremely careful who you share information about your preps with.  Sometimes close friends and even family can be that Grasshopper.
Be low key, be subtle, be private, and be careful.

What Should You Prepare For?

Most people who are getting started in preparedness have no idea what they should be preparing for.  Usually there are one or two things that push you into the preparedness mindset, but as soon as you start thinking about it, you realize that there are a whole slew of other things to add to the list.
The key thing to remember is that preparedness is like insurance.  You spend your resources on it, and hope you never have to use it.
Now that’s not completely true for many areas of preparedness, like food storage, because you should be using that as part of your regular life.  But your major disaster plans are things you don’t want to have to use, right?
You have to think about what kinds of things are likely to happen to you given your life circumstances, your environment, and the people around you.  Make plans, prioritize, and take action.  Above all, take action.  At least one little thing every week will get you where you want to go pretty darn quick!