Category: Survival Mindset

How to Get Truly Prepared, by Ryan M.

There is a distinction between being ready and prepared. In my own personal journey I have found myself often in need of guidance. I know what it is to be prepared and what it means when you find out that you should have had or brought this or that. As a former US Marine and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) combat veteran I have done my fair share of getting both myself and others ready. Having lists of what is needed and training to be conducted was an asset that I had overlooked and perhaps even taken for granted. “Higher ups” …


Letter Re: One Week’s Worth — Examining the Ethics of Preparedness

Dear JWR: In response to the article “One Weeks Worth”: First, I believe not all possible solutions were presented. It was clearly stated that the prepared man insisted that his wife always keep a half a tank of gas in her car, implying that he probably had a car too. They should have let them take one of their cars to get to the shelter. This would have been a viable and best scenario for a win-win situation. Being helpless and being lazy are two separate issues and I believe the unprepared man was both lazy and slothful in not …


One Week’s Worth — Examining the Ethics of Preparedness, by J.L.

James has a family of two which include his wife and four year old son. He loves them both very much and would do anything to see to their well being. Given the recent events in Haiti, Thailand and most notably Japan, James has decided to prepare himself and his family for a natural disaster. Living in the Southern California area, he has focused his preparation for an earthquake and possible tsunami. In his home he keeps enough canned food and fresh water for his family to survive for at least one week. This week long time frame is about …


There is No Magic Wand, by Grace H.

Some of the very earliest memories I have of wanting to be a good prepper come from stories about my Scottish grandmother.  They lived in Sunderland, England, during both World Wars, had eight living children, were poor as church mice, and fed anyone who was in need because of the bombing raids.  Apparently, her theory was to add more water to the soup pot and another cup of barley.  My Dad told me that she said that the sign of a good housewife is a well-stocked pantry, ready for all emergencies.   As a child I read First Aid manuals …


The Unrealistic Mentality of the Modern Survivalist, by Bryan R.

I am guilty of falling into the “Wolverines!” mindset from time-to-time, that being the image of going toe-to-toe with the insidious foreign invasion force and setting up ambushes to destroy the evil occupiers or perhaps having to confront droves of hostiles, be they urban gang-bangers, local looters, or some other such group of less than savory individuals. The modern survivalist seems to be rather obsessed with the idea of a total collapse of all centralized authority to the point where society is little better than Somalia, although historical precedent doesn’t give much credibility to this theory. The idea of a …


Helping Friends and Family Gear Up, by L.D.L.

As I sit here this evening, I am watching the aftermath of recent Missouri and Alabama tornadoes, Midwest flooding and western fires on television.  In the southeast, hurricane season will be upon them and there is always the possibility of an earthquake throughout the US. The news carries stories of our county’s continuing financial decline and overwhelming debt. I watch as the value of gold, silver and other precious metals climb and the value of our dollar continues to drop. The next segment of the news has reports of increasing gas prices, increasing taxes and increasing crime. The growing unrest …


Knowing Your Personality Strengths and Weaknesses, by C.F.

In nature, optimizing for one attribute generally means weakening one’s abilities in another. For example, with vehicles, optimizing for speed and maneuverability in tight turns generally means reducing carrying capacity, road clearance and tolerance for rough dirt roads. A sports car is clearly different from a 4×4 pickup truck. Both are optimized for different purposes. The same is true for the human mind. Optimizing one’s strengths for real-time situations (e.g., physical combat) is very different from optimizing for long-range pursuits that require extended periods of uninterrupted concentration (e.g., theoretical physics). In a survival situation, it can be crucial to know …


Survival Partnership: Getting Your Wife On Board for Prepping, by Tracey K.

I wanted to write about how to possibly get your wife on board for when SHTF from my own experience.  I think I should start out with first giving all the credit to my husband.  In vain he had tried for many years to get me on board.  He would request that we purchase guns, have supplies, buy gold/silver etc.  All that talk and the only word I ever heard was gun.  Are you kidding me?  Guns had always represented a negative feeling inside me.  Now I don’t want to go into the discussion of whether they are right or …


Whether and When to Bug Out — Hurricanes!, by TJD in Houston

Having read the daily entries on SurvivalBlog for a few months now, and reading the novel Patriots it seems to me that an often visited topic is whether and when to “Bug Out.”  As a resident of Houston, Texas, I will try to provide insight from the perspective of a person who has been through the evacuation drill twice…and never evacuated.  So there you have it, I will go ahead and show my cards up front; I am in the “hunker down” camp.  Although I will explain my reasons, I will not try to convince others it is the right …


Two Letters Re: Confronting Those Who Plan to Rob Others, Post-Collapse

JWR: I read with interest the recent letter that included this: “I  fully realize what a hungry man will do to feed his family and have even been told by a law enforcement officer that he don’t need to store food. He said that he could take it for his family so they don’t starve. I know he has a large arsenal and I get his drift.” This fallacious and frankly un-Christian belief that the writer encountered is not unique.  I was discussing the need to obtain an emergency food supply with a couple of  lads who work at the …


Prepare While You Can, by W.L.

Many of our family and friends have teased us about my husband’s and my desire to live as independently and as far away from others as we possibly can. They have often scoffed at our (as one relative called it) “end of the world pantry”. These are of course the same family and friends that love to vacation at our place. The very same that called immediately after 9/11 and asked if the violence and terror reached near their homes could they come and stay with us. These same people have begun calling in the days since the massive earthquake …


Spiritual Survival, by Rob C.

What is the big picture?  What is the point of it all – all the hours of prepping, all the hard work, researching and sacrifices?  To get to Heaven, where “no eye has seen, no ear heard what the Lord has prepared for the who loves him.” See that?! the Lord prepares too!  but He is preparing for our coming home.  Heaven is our true home and we are but pilgrims on our journey home.  He is planning a big home-coming party for us.  He is preparing a place for us and He wants us to be with him forever.  …


Getting To Really Know Your Spouse and Yourself: An Unexpected Prepping Setback, by K.S.

Most of us know the value of a good friend in times of trouble and how they can be of help. And most of us either have had a prepping setback, heard of such setbacks, or have thought of what would happen in case of a setback. You can imagine the loss of valuable preps to such things as flooding, storm damage, or even theft. But recently I had a major setback come from a completely unexpected direction. In 1997, through my church, I met a wonderful woman and despite our age differences (she was 21 and I was 34) …


Living in a Small Town – An Australian Perspective, by Margaret G.

For those of you who are contemplating leaving the city and moving to a small country town, there are quite a few differences that you and your lifestyle should take into account if your new life is to be a happy one. Small towns don’t change too much no matter what country you live in. I live in Australia. I’m retired after working with a variety of state and local government departments over the years. I’ve chosen to live in an old stone church on about an acre of land in a small town of about two hundred people in …


Survival and Special Needs Loved Ones, by Mrs. H.

Although most survival enthusiasts are “of sound mind and body,” many of us have friends or family members who aren’t quite so lucky. Being the parent or friend of someone with special needs in everyday life is often stressful enough, let alone when facing TEOTWAWKI. Making preparations for their survival and long term care will help ease some of that worry in the event of a real emergency or extended crisis. Obviously, the same basic needs should be met for everyone: food, shelter, water, heat, protection, and health care. With a special needs person thrown into the mix, though, your …