I learned a valuable lesson yesterday, and it will help solidify the concept in my mind by posting it here. I'm sure others have gone through something similar to this, and maybe someone else will stumble across this post and gain something from it...
At the beginning of this year, I was going strong on prepping, educating myself, gaining skills, etc. The economic downturn added fuel to my fire, and also got my wife into self-sufficiency and prepping (wohoo for the recession!!!
). As summer approached, I was very busy studying for a major test (the DAT) and applying to dental schools. I rocked the test, got all my application stuff under way, and my life calmed back down. But my desire to pick up where I left off wasn't there. At one point I thought, "Man - it's a good thing I didn't take a bunch of our savings and buy AR-15's and body armor! That would have been bad!" At another point I thought, "All that survival stuff was kind of silly. What was I thinking?!"
Yesterday I downloaded a bunch of Jack's podcasts to try to get caught up from when I last listened to TSP. I listened to Episode 264: "The Core Concepts of The Survival Podcast Community". Like usual, Jack made some really good points that made realize where I went wrong.
Instead of doing things to improve my life "if times get tough, or even if they don't", I was only focusing on the "
if they don't" part. It's easy to get carried away with rumors swirling all about, and before you know it, you've started sprouting some tin on the top of your head. Earlier this year, I was convinced that this fall (i.e., right now) there would be runs on the banks. I was convinced that a Dow at 6000 would seem peachy compared to what it will be in the fall (i.e., right now). I was spending too much time reading from websites who cite their sources as "a reader whose cousin knows someone whose brother works for DHS." When fall came around, and the Dow was at 9500, and society was still intact, I felt pretty stupid. I also felt like it was stupid for me to be spending so much time preparing for things that probably aren't going to happen. I should "put my feet back on the ground and live in reality," I thought. (I realize that the Dow probably isn't poised for a steady incline from here on out, but that's not the point).
The point is, I was preparing for an event. (The bank runs and further collapse of the economy this fall). What makes it worse is I "knew" the time the event was going to happen. I should not be preparing for an "event", I should be working towards self-sufficiency. I should put in a garden not because the collapse is coming this fall, but because I will eat healthier and decrease my dependence on the grocery store
today (paraphrased from Episode 264). There shouldn't be any fear in my preparations - I should be doing it to improve my quality of life
today. If I take this approach, I won't ever end up being one of those guys whose deadline for TEOTWAWKI comes and goes and then gives up on survivalism (paraphrased again).
If you ever start falling into this trap, listen to Episode 264. It's a good one!
