Posted: 12/29/2008 6:23:40 PM EDT
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I have been thinking quite a bit after asking you guys about my home building situation about our whole "survival minded" life style. How do you guys keep a balance between focusing entirely on preparing for whatever your personal SHTF scenario is and living a full life. It is really easy, I believe to get too focused on one extreme or the other.
I'm just curious and kind of thinking out loud here about how you guys keep from living in constant fear of the "what ifs" while not becoming one of the crazy, impulsive consumer-sheeple? Thanks |
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Balance is always important. Moderation in all things is a central part of my life. Focus is important but remember that the most important things in life are family and friends and not the stuff you surround yourself with. I always have a "list" of stuff that I pick off when the funds or the spirit moves me. I rank the list as to what's important and put a price figure next to it. Once I grab that I cross it out and feel the accomplishment and look to buy the next when the time comes.
A slow steady pull on preparations is the correct way to go in my less than humble opinion. For years that meant $30-$50 a month and as I advanced in military rank than meant more, and eventually when I purchased my house lots and lots of things fell into place. Once I retired from the Navy I didn't have the safety of the base to retreat to in an event but the skill training and more importantly the mind set I acquired has served me well. My list is very short, and very expensive at this point with such gems as a $500 water tank, $3250 worth of night vision goggles, and $15,000 worth of solar panels. |
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Guess it depends what your idea of living a full life is?
That's why it's called a LIFESTYLE. Every day puts us one more day ahead then before. I try not to worry about things I can not change or control. I can however adapt to or overcome most things. That and having a healthy understanding that shit does happen. Once I came to terms with that, it kind of all fell into place. The thing that keeps me focused and going is my family. No matter what happens in life, try to live in the moment and always keep moving forward. Good luck BT |
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Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.
My prepping has escalated lately...and coincidentally, so has my worrying. After a few big purchases were made and a few internet searches done, I'm starting to calm back down. I tell myself that once my cache of stuff is at a respectable level (January) I can begin to focus elsewhere. We shall see. You know, I love this forum. I have learned things here that just might save my life or the lives of my children someday. But reading it too much might not be good! 
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Quoted:
I put my seatbelt on everytime I get in a vehicle but I don't ride around constantly thinking I'm going to wreck. Same for me, and I don't constantly worry about getting in a wreck or having a flat tire, mainly because I've done everything I could to be prepared in case something like that happens. I'm not sure where people get the impression that survival preparation includes spending all your time worrying about what might happen. Some people do that, but then some people do a lot of things. That doesn't mean it's a required part of survival preparations. I consider it more important to NOT worry about things, since worrying does no good. 
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my fear is not being prepared for what may come. as i go down my list of the most likely SHTF events, that could hit me, and i slowly check off the preps for that event, the tension in my life is eased. my preps won't save me or my family, but survival, as w/ everything, is a hell of a lot easier w/ the right tools.
balance for me won't be the same as others. my wife and i decided that living in a rural area is how we wanted to raise our kids. living in the country dictates that you are more self sufficient. when we go shopping it takes longer to get there, so it's prudent to buy more so we can go less. the PD and FD are also much slower to get here, so we take as many steps as possible to take care of those needs. the previous owner of our old farm house had it wired w/ an ADT alarm, the irony is that by the time it was set off and LEO arrived, the zombies would've been long gone. we've always had dogs. they let us know when somethings not right. i have prepared for the most likely events - tornado, ice storm, financial (can you ever be prepared completely for financial SHTF?). i'm still working on the more catastrophic event preps, but i worry less about those. do i worry, sure i do, i have 3 kids under 5.5. two are girls and they'll be teenagers someday and boys will want to date them. i'm gonna need more ammo. |
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I don't know if it is easy because it is something I've done all of my life,
or if it is because I don't suffer from undue paranoia :) I don't "prepare for SHTF". I am "prepared for SHTF". It's a kind of a fine distinction, but it makes all of the difference. I am prepared because shit does happen in life. But because I am prepared, I can worry less about shit happening, and when it does happen I can be happier because being prepared allows me to get through the shit easier and with less trauma than if I were not. I also have a fatalistic outlook on life which says that no matter how much I prepare, there will be things that I simply cannot emerge unscathed from, so there's no point in going to extremes such that other aspects of my life suffer. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
I put my seatbelt on everytime I get in a vehicle but I don't ride around constantly thinking I'm going to wreck. Same for me, and I don't constantly worry about getting in a wreck or having a flat tire, mainly because I've done everything I could to be prepared in case something like that happens. I'm not sure where people get the impression that survival preparation includes spending all your time worrying about what might happen. Some people do that, but then some people do a lot of things. That doesn't mean it's a required part of survival preparations. I consider it more important to NOT worry about things, since worrying does no good.
I wear a condom everytime I have sex, and ALWAYS worry my ass off that it will break.. 
Kinda the opposite of the seatbelt deal... |
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Thanks guys. I just kind of got to thinking because I am unsure if I should build a house or not, and I am/was worrying about losing my job, the economy crashing and ultimately me not being able to make my mortgage payment if one of these things happen. I'm sure it would suck, but if any of those things happen right now, it will suck just as bad. Worrying about those things doesn't accomplish anything, they will happen if they are going to happen anyways. The best I can do is make sure to live within my means as much as possible and put money away every payday.
Thanks again. |