Fears of an economic collapse, gun control laws, inflation on the rise, and the popularity of the TV show “Doomsday Preppers” all have a lot more people thinking about emergency preparedness these days. Record numbers of people are purchasing supplies and trying to adopt the prepper lifestyle, but in order to really be prepared, you need to first learn to think like a prepper.
Learning to think like a prepper or a survivalist involves a lot more than just buying guns and camouflage clothing. Thinking like a prepper means that you are trying to stay one step ahead of what is happening and constantly focusing on the priorities of survival and life.
The word “survival” often makes people think of being lost in the wilderness or something dramatic, but in the sense of the word here, I am talking about economic and social survival. In other words, getting by and making ends meet and safeguarding your family.
Thinking like a prepper or a survivalist will help you be a much better prepper or survivalist, but it is more important than you might realize at first.
A good example is the young boy who plays basketball, imagining that he is Michael Jordan. He buys the shoes and when he approaches the free throw line he bounces the ball like Michael Jordan and stands like Michael Jordan and shoots like Michael Jordan, all in an effort to be as good as his idol.
The problem is that “acting like” Michael Jordan will not improve your basketball game: only practicing like Michael Jordan will. It’s the countless hours of drills and layups and practice that makes you successful, not the outer appearances.
The same is true of being a prepper or survivalist. Going to gun shows and wearing the clothes and cool bumper stickers will do nothing to ultimately safeguard you and your family when the “sewage” hits the fan.
To become prepared and ensure your family’s survival, you must learn how to think like a prepper. Unfortunately, that is very boring sometimes.
Thinking like a prepper means that you know how many calories per day each person in your family needs to survive under adverse conditions and what balance of what economical foods you can store will provide those calories.
Thinking like a prepper means that you understand how much wattage the necessary appliances in your home require and you are coming up with a plan to generate those watts when the power goes out.
It also means that you understand all the various types of waterborne pathogens that can kill or sicken your family and exactly how to neutralize those bugs so that you have safe water to drink.
It’s not really glamorous being a prepper or a survivalist, but if you learn to think like one, your family will always be protected and you will be able to rest easy. And when you are resting easy, knowing that your essentials are taken care of, you can spend some of your free time visiting a gun show and buying some camouflage shirts!