If you haven’t read part 1, part 2 or part 3, please read before continuing…
20. Fix in your own mind the truth about your capabilities. In a crisis/survival situation this principle will keep you from cockiness [or overconfidence] and will provide you with confidence. For example: if you’re not physically able to carry a backpack for 3 miles, know that in advance and make an alternate plan.
21. Beware of being spread too thin in your life. Decide on the few things in life that you must do and do them well. This is my problem. I take on too much stuff at once. Can you relate? My mentor taught me that being successful is not doing extraordinary things, being successful is doing ordinary things, extraordinarily well. So pick a few survival, self sufficient techniques you can do and do them well. How about storing food or growing a garden?
22. Sell or give away things you do not use or need. None of us want to admit this, but it’s necessary. A true self sufficient person learns to live with less. I recently cleaned out my closet and donated clothes I didn’t need and realized how many I now have! Less is more. Now I can find what I have, much easier. What does this have to do with survival? A lot. Clutter distracts your mind and your focus. You can usually judge a person’s organizational skills by looking at 2 things, their car and their desk. If they are both a mess, it’s likely that their life is a mess too. Sorry if that one hurt, but it’s true, isn’t it?
23. Buy an extra one of everything you use regularly and set the extra one aside for the time when such items may be difficult or impossible to obtain. If your budget doesn’t allow for an extra one of everything, start duplicating a few small, inexpensive and useful items like food items, extra batteries, matches, first aid kits, flashlights, garbage bags, toiletries, gasoline, bottled water, etc. In a regional disaster these may be hard to get. Even in the event of an individual disaster (like losing your job) these may be hard for you to get also. Start putting them away now.
24. Real education [or learning] only takes place when change occurs in our attitudes, actions, and way of life. There’s an old saying about training, “those who need it the most, don’t get it.” The same is true for secure living skills. Those who need this the most, won’t do it. It’s my goal to persuade as many people as I can to engage in activities that will help them become more independent and live a better life whether times get tough or not. Modern survivalism also pays off when nothing goes wrong. It helps you change your thinking about how you live. Our creator has given us a powerful mind. We have to train it like anything else and not using it to the fullest is our only real challenge.
Last, but not least…..
25. Find someone who lived through the Great Depression and learn from them how they were self-sufficient, how they made do with little, and how they found joy and contentment in the midst of hard times. If you have the benefit of someone like this in your family that you can still talk to, please do it! We are not in the great depression and I hate it when members of our government say, “this is the worst economic crisis since the great depression.” It’s not. But the people who lived during that time, have a lot to teach us. Do you think they had a garden? Do you think those that could store food, stored it?
This concludes the “mindset” portion of www.TodaysSurvival.com
In the near future, I will be posting some information for young people who wish to practice common sense preparedness (believe me they’re out there.) Also, coming soon; what to do if you don’t have or can’t afford a bug out location, what foods to store, and where to put your money (alternative investment strategies.)
Stay tuned and if you have comments post them below and consider joining our FORUM.
Bob Mayne
Editor
www.TodaysSurvival.com
