Posted: 6/26/2011 6:49:45 PM EDT
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I have been prepping since Obumble was elected. Being so far off base to start with and trying to catch up has really been stressful I do what I can, when I can, but with an unsteady job situation it is hard. Knowing what is coming ( more or less) has affected my outlook on life and my marriage. I am not laying in supplies right now even though I need to. Trying to convince my wife that moving out of the city and into the country is hard as she thinks she will be bored. I know I can't let up on prepping, but I'm burned out.
How about you? Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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It's tough to stay focused for sure. With all the doom and gloom reports it's
really tough to keep a good positive attitude about things. What lifts me up is the feeling of accomplishment, like laying in more food and working the garden, and live testing the generator. Those are the things that make me know I'm getting ahead and doing what I'm supposd to be doing. Take inventory and set specific goals of what you need and what is most important, and get them done. If that doesn't get you motivated, re-read your copy of One Second After, and that will surely help get you back on track. 
Stay postive and exercise more too. |
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I've been prepping for a bit longer. It has to be a lifestyle and you have to be slow and deliberate if you want to make progress while staying sane. Hang in there. Protect your marriage. Develop your resume and skills in the workplace. Try to interest your wife in things that are peripherally related to preparedness–– camping, fishing, hiking, spending time at farms and gardens open to the public, shooting. She may come around or you may have to make compromises to create a balance between a stable marriage and some level of preparedness. Prepare for the most likely things first–– severe weather, a layoff, an accident. Make being debt-free a priority. </more than my alotted 2 cents> |
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Many people here seem to forget prepping for the everyday things that will really effect their lives. Stuff like a job loss, paying the rent/ house note/insurance , ect. Doesn't sound cool like killing mass hordes of zombies, but be that as it may, those are the things that many of us are likely to encounter. Take care of your finances and your food. Don't worry so much about the bullets. |
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Just be realistic.....
I have been prepping since the 80s. I have heard people predicting doom since the 1970s. Older friends commented about how they heard similar dire predictions in the 60s and 50s........ Life goes on. I look at it as a lifestyle and a hobby. It makes things fun, less stressful and allows me to be prepared for what might come. Don't forget, being prepared is mostly about the right mindset and having a plan. |
| When you get a your bills paid on time, a few weeks of groceries ahead, a gallon or two of extra gas, and a little ammo, feel great about the accomplishment. You are prepared for most issues that can come up. Slowly add to your stores as the budget permits. I've heard other guys here that this is not a race. Ease down on yourself a little. A serious and often neglected prep is raising the family right and keeping the Mrs. happy. Take a mental inventory of what you have and have done. Budget the rest. |
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Quoted:
It's tough to stay focused for sure. With all the doom and gloom reports it's really tough to keep a good positive attitude about things. What lifts me up is the feeling of accomplishment, like laying in more food and working the garden, and live testing the generator. Those are the things that make me know I'm getting ahead and doing what I'm supposd to be doing. Take inventory and set specific goals of what you need and what is most important, and get them done. If that doesn't get you motivated, re-read your copy of One Second After, and that will surely help get you back on track.
Stay postive and exercise more too. This. Every little thing we add to the stockpile makes me feel a little better about being able to feed and protect me and mine. If there's no $ for tangibles, read and learn, practice skills, camp out... etc. And if reading OSA doesn't do it for ya, go for Lights Out. 
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You will never be as fully prepared for a particular event as you would like too. Accept it.
You can however, make slow, steady, incremental progress towards a more independent and self-determined life. One step at a time. A little cash set asider here. A few more days fo food there. One less debt. One more tool. In time you move from being totally dependent on the 'system' for day to day living towards more independence. you can then comfortably endure an event of several days duratio, then one weeks long, then longer.... Preparing is a mindset, not a collection of stuff. It is a way of life, of looking at the world. As in many philosophies, you can choose to be optimistic or pessimissttic. True do not have the night vision I'd like to have. I could whine and focus on the glass being half empty. Or I cana focus on the six months of food and no debt I DO have (the glass being half full). Fro |
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Quoted:
You will never be as fully prepared for a particular event as you would like too. Accept it. You can however, make slow, steady, incremental progress towards a more independent and self-determined life. One step at a time. A little cash set asider here. A few more days fo food there. One less debt. One more tool. In time you move from being totally dependent on the 'system' for day to day living towards more independence. you can then comfortably endure an event of several days duratio, then one weeks long, then longer.... Preparing is a mindset, not a collection of stuff. It is a way of life, of looking at the world. As in many philosophies, you can choose to be optimistic or pessimissttic. True do not have the night vision I'd like to have. I could whine and focus on the glass being half empty. Or I cana focus on the six months of food and no debt I DO have (the glass being half full). Fro this, plus my sig...both very informational! prepping since 1998.....there have been and continue to be days, even weeks that I take a break-just trying to get my head clear...to focus on what good is left. |
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It is hard to stay positive with all the sh*t that is going down in Washington and around the world. It is hard not to feel like the clock is running out and that time is short. Those who have just gotten started tend to feel like they are miles behind and need to catch up. It is a lot of pressure to bear along with the day to day struggle of keeping your family sheltered and fed.
What you need to remember is that it is not a race, but a lifestyle. By recognizing that there is a problem/danger, you are already miles ahead of most of the people in this country. As most have said, prep for the most likely first, then add as you have the funds. Learn new skills, these are the preps no one can take away. And you may have some fun learning something new. Slow and steady, making it part of your day to day life is how you avoid burn out. And remember, the big SHTF event may not happen, at least not tomorrow. They might just keep putting patches and plugging holes to keep this ship of state afloat a while longer. So be sure to live your life. It is OK to take a vacation. It is OK to go out to dinner once in a while. Life goes on, make sure you are living it and not just hunkering down in your basement counting canned goods. Breathe. stasiman |
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I've been prepping since the 80's, then even more so in the 90's.I too get bouts of burn out. Sometimes I don't want to even think about anything survival related. I won't even visit survival sites or forums for a while. But as with my other interests I just get back into it.
Don't let anything overwhelm you or cause you to feel pressured. |
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first thing is: dont move her out to the country. as a compromise, buy a piece of land in the country and have it as a bol. if momma aint happy, nobody is happy.
i have been out of a job for over 2 years now. its a good thing i had started prepping a few years before. they are coming in handy. but, since losing work, i havent been able to lay in much extra or do any cool prepping that costs money. and since we are in an exceptional drought, a garden is an absolute waste of time and money this year. the cheapest things to do are read everything you can, get/stay in shape, love your wife and live your life. enjoy life while you can, instead of worrying about what might happen. |
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Quoted: I have been prepping since Obumble was elected. Being so far off base to start with and trying to catch up has really been stressful I do what I can, when I can, but with an unsteady job situation it is hard. Knowing what is coming ( more or less) has affected my outlook on life and my marriage. I am not laying in supplies right now even though I need to. Trying to convince my wife that moving out of the city and into the country is hard as she thinks she will be bored. I know I can't let up on prepping, but I'm burned out. How about you? Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile Your situation sounds just like mine, all the way down to the duration of time, the reasons why, and the struggles with the wife. The furthest I can get her out is to the outer ring of the suburbs, about 35-40 mi out from downtown Atlanta. I'm going to have to take it for now. We're city people and have never lived in the burbs so even that is an accomplishment. I would've liked it about 25 miles more but she's worried about the commute, which is a joke. Even when you live and work in the city, the transit time amounts to a commute. I'm currently focusing my efforts on learning skills. Carpentry, electrical, first aid, bushcraft, and getting more instruction on advanced firearm tactics. The key for me to avoid burnout is doing a little bit all the time instead of trying to accomplish the big pieces as fast as humanly possible. My lifestyle isn't anything like it was pre-Katrina so I'm always looking for useful items to acquire and putting a little back into the pantry whenever something is available or jumps out at me. It really doesn't require forethought I mean to say. I'm straight on guns and ammo. I don't really need anymore pistols but I still don't own a .30cal AR or a precision rifle. Those things will come too with time. Unless I really need something immediately, I try not to buy unless there's a good deal that can't be passed. When I come across one for one of those firearms then I'll jump. If I really needed one I could have it but again, being that we've always been city people, the AR pattern guns are plenty sufficient. |
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Good input everyone. I enjoyed reading everyones posts
I've been in the game for about 18 months now. Been made fun of quite a lot. Told I watch too much glenn beck exc... however everytime I want to give it a rest on prepping, something bad goes on in the news eithers its Japan, joplin, Middle easy on fire, The economy, or Obummer opens his mouth. I see the perfect storm ahead, & I'm bracing for impact. Therefore I just "keep on, keeping on........." And it makes it all the while, |
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if you slap a 100 oz steak in front of you ,,how would you eat it? as fast as you could,only to say you did it, then barf it all up in your truck on the ride home.... Or take your time, one bite at a time. So many get caught up with what they see as what they "have to have" verse, going along and taking the time to see why they need to have it. Set your plan, communicate with your wife(so) if not, its all in vain if it really goes to shit. Set goals and work towards them. We all get burned from time to time..it happens. The thing is to never fall back farther than where you started at. Oh and zombie/reddawn/total societal collapse isnt gonna happen any time soon, so dont sweat it. Worry about next winters ice storms, or this summers hurricanes, or your kid trip to the dentist next week. SHTF is different for all of us.....and we all react to events differently.... |
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I'm straight on guns and ammo. I don't really need anymore pistols but I still don't own a .30cal AR or a precision rifle. Those things will come too with time. Unless I really need something immediately, I try not to buy unless there's a good deal that can't be passed. When I come across one for one of those firearms then I'll jump. If I really needed one I could have it but again, being that we've always been city people, the AR pattern guns are plenty sufficient. Ah here goes a topic I see PA22-400 bring up alot. Just because some old 'survival' types say you need a 'precision rifle' doesn't make it so. You've got a handgun and a carbine. As long as you have the skills to use them properly IN A TACTICAL situation you should be ok. If you don't have the skills for 500-800y shooting (and have done it) then why have a rifle just because someone said you NEED it? Do you know how to judge wind direction and speed AND know how to apply it to a target solution? To get it right takes lots of practice. If it's not somthing you normally would do then don't bother wasting your money on such a rifle - attend a handgun or carbine class, spend the money on more food or CPR certification. |
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I appreciate your comments Forest and believe that they are well intentioned, but my interest in 30cal has more to do with where I'm going and the threats associated with the area than it does the blanket opinion of self proclaimed experts. When you leave the city and move out to northern suburbs here, your dealing with different problems than are typically found in town. As I've stated the 5.56 long guns I own are just fine for the social problems most frequently encountered in inner city life. Thus up to this point, I felt that the expenditure would be tantamount to throwing money into a hole. But out on the periphery of the suburbs and rural areas, in northern Georgia, a thirty cal firearm is the better implement for the social issues that arise out there. Think dangerous but amateur teen/tween home invaders in the city versus much better prepared and coordiated groups on the other fringes of the 'burbs that do door kicking and robbery as a side job to transnational drug and human distribution. Very often they are of the illegal persuasion and can trace their ethnicity to south of the border. At the same time, the law enforcement entity is responsible for hundreds of square miles of county land without a tenth of the resources that are available in the city. Response times can be lengthy. I can't legally or morally justify 5-800 yard anything while there is a functioning state authority in place but one to two hundred yard engagement is a much different story given a very narrow but plausible set of circumstances and the deadly force laws of Georgia. You would just have to know the local culture down here for the context. Perhaps a similar case can be made in MD or PA or some other state, I'm not sure. Yet based on my AO and the understanding I have of the personal protection issues that locals face out there, I'd rather have 7.62 at my disposal than 5.56mm once I leave city limits. It is for those reasons that I am interested in 30 caliber small arms only now for the first time. Whether or not I have the skills is not a concern at all. Proficiency is something that can be acquired by practice just like anything else. I'm sure in due time I shall find out but I don't expect to aspire to Marine Recon marksmanship to resist the types of attack that are not outside of the ordinary for a few unfortunate people in my future locale. Nor am I completely discouraged by the prospect of developing the skill required for medium distance shots since my eyes and hands are good enough to make shots over irons on my AR at distances just inside of the range that I may need the 308 gun to serve. As I said though, there really isnt' a rush. I have several options in a few different calibers that would be okay to use in a pinch that will carry me over until a deal comes by that I just can't pass up. I've got enough ammo to supply a small squad for a prolonged skirmish if need be. To me the essence of the lifestyle is to invest on items and in learning when it best suits your needs and matches your financial situation and not just to mollify some sense of impending doom that may strike by securing some particular item(s) at any cost. Now I very much want a newer and bigger truck, but that's a totally different story for another thread. So far I have also resisted that temptation. |
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I have been prepping since Obumble was elected. Being so far off base to start with and trying to catch up has really been stressful I do what I can, when I can, but with an unsteady job situation it is hard. Knowing what is coming ( more or less) has affected my outlook on life and my marriage. I am not laying in supplies right now even though I need to. Trying to convince my wife that moving out of the city and into the country is hard as she thinks she will be bored. I know I can't let up on prepping, but I'm burned out. How about you? Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile Prep for the most likely events first. Broken down car. Job Loss. House fire. Weather event. Break In. ... Insert lots of stuff here ... Blue helmets on every corner. Zombie Apocalypse. If your mental and marital health is suffering you are doing it wrong. Divorce is a catastrophe that hits HALF of the families in the US. |
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Very often when a distance runner discovers he is well behind in a race, he will run too fast and wear himself out all the quicker.
That's all you have done. Just remember a runner who finds his pace and sticks to it, often wins the race. Run your own race. Living a prepared lifestyle really isn't about gear but a mindset a lifestyle. My parents and their parents had a much more practical approach to it. They simply called it "Getting ready for hard times." Having lived though the Great Depression, crime with almost no police response, and weather events like we can only imagine now with all the emergency services, "Hard Times" was reality to them. It wasn't "If" it was win. They really didn't care to speculate on "What". They just did what they could when they could and if you prepared for "hard times" in general then that took care of the "whys". We just talk about the "whys" a lot because its more fun and gets down into the specific details. When you think of it, we really don't have to. You prepare for a crime event, it doesn't take much more to put enough ammo back to handle a war. Its not like we can really survive tens of thousands of rounds being expended. Enough food for being out of work or the capability of renewing your own food certainly will apply to some EOTWAWKI disaster out of science fiction book. Yes, America is in the midst of one hell of an eye opener. We've just came off the longest run of prosperity in history. Its good though to not let the sheep screaming that just realized 20% of the herd was wiped out by wolves distract us. If you feel you are one of the screaming sheep, all you need a kick and someone to remind you to get your head out of the grass, the wolves have been attacking the herd forever. Take your time, have patience, and build your lifestyle as you can. I often take breaks from buying gear or supplies. I often trade that for honing skills which are more important than gear which can be used up, lost, or taken. I never take a break from the lifestyle and it augments everything I do in life. We are the guys when at work advise others, "Do it this way, only move it once." That's not gear, that's a mindset. Tj |
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Very often when a distance runner discovers he is well behind in a race, he will run too fast and wear himself out all the quicker. That's all you have done. Just remember a runner who finds his pace and sticks to it, often wins the race. Run your own race. Living a prepared lifestyle really isn't about gear but a mindset a lifestyle. My parents and their parents had a much more practical approach to it. They simply called it "Getting ready for hard times." Having lived though the Great Depression, crime with almost no police response, and weather events like we can only imagine now with all the emergency services, "Hard Times" was reality to them. It wasn't "If" it was win. They really didn't care to speculate on "What". They just did what they could when they could and if you prepared for "hard times" in general then that took care of the "whys". We just talk about the "whys" a lot because its more fun and gets down into the specific details. When you think of it, we really don't have to. You prepare for a crime event, it doesn't take much more to put enough ammo back to handle a war. Its not like we can really survive tens of thousands of rounds being expended. Enough food for being out of work or the capability of renewing your own food certainly will apply to some EOTWAWKI disaster out of science fiction book. Yes, America is in the midst of one hell of an eye opener. We've just came off the longest run of prosperity in history. Its good though to not let the sheep screaming that just realized 20% of the herd was wiped out by wolves distract us. If you feel you are one of the screaming sheep, all you need a kick and someone to remind you to get your head out of the grass, the wolves have been attacking the herd forever. Take your time, have patience, and build your lifestyle as you can. I often take breaks from buying gear or supplies. I often trade that for honing skills which are more important than gear which can be used up, lost, or taken. I never take a break from the lifestyle and it augments everything I do in life. We are the guys when at work advise others, "Do it this way, only move it once." That's not gear, that's a mindset. Tj This, and the more you can voluntarily incorporate the participation of your wife, the better. It may be something as simple as gardening and putting up your own food through a CSA while your still living in town, just to help show her that this "preparedness" is multi-faceted and can serve many different interests/skill sets. And most importantly, it CAN BE FUN! It may also help to get her on board to simply sit her down and start discussing what many have already mentioned; scenarios that are likely to disrupt the current comforts she enjoys in life. I have an issue similar to yours; my fiance doesn't quite get "preparedness". Fortunately for me, she grew up on a farm and understands growing and preserving ones own food, so I have that working for me. The rest...well it's a work in progress, much like preparedness itself. I can't force most of it upon her, but she has realized over time, through her trust in me, that there are some things that she simply has to accept for now and she will come to understand better someday. |
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I am kinda in the same boat you are. I took sometime off from prepping, and have been spending it with the family. Sometimes you have to shut off all the bad noise that we as preppers hear, and concentrate on the happier parts of our life's. Instead of storing food, I have been working on my fitness. Instead of buying gear, I have been shooting more. Instead of reading apocalyptic post online, I have been studying for my Plumbing Test. I feel a lot better, and plan to start back prepping in the next month or two. |
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Welcome back TJ! Hadn't seen you around for a while. Your voice of reason and wisdom is always good to hear.
Thanks, not really gone but really busy. I've barely had time to read the forum and do a couple posts a day. The last six months has been really rough, not enough hours in a day. Its slacking off now. |
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It isn't the mindset so much as just being behind on finances for so long. I am in a truck 10-15 days a week. I need to move my family up to where I am (abt 300 mi) and sell my house. The wife problem goes way back. Hopefully I am getting some traction now. All the bad news is distracting. I am planning to live the lifestyle. Just so much needs doing. I need a clone, but that would turn into a zombie movie and I would have to shoot myself. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |