Want to become a homesteader, or a prepper or survivalist?
There is one thing that matters above all others.
It can make you or it will most certainly break you before you even realize it has happened – and that one thing is your own MINDSET.
How you see the world and yourself in it predetermines to a large part how you are going to react to both opportunities and threats as they occur. It determines how well prepared you will be – or not be as well.
Numerous studies have shown almost identical scenarios where similar people were involved – yet one comes through virtually unscathed and the other dies.
The primary thing that determined their fate in both cases is what was inside their own mind and how they chose to see and deal with the given situation.
Recent events have also proven again and again the truth of this concept. Some people panic and lose their minds while others are better prepared both mentally and physically to deal with adverse circumstances effectively.
Lessons From the Military and From Martial Arts
When you join the military you are trained and conditioned to deal with stress and extreme conditions in ways that are not normal. Where normal people will panic and their heart rates will go through the roof in seconds – military members must be able to remain relatively calm and control their breathing and be able to continue to think and act when others freeze up.
Either that or perish.
And yes – it is a hell of a lot easier to discuss and understand the general idea than it is to apply in real life, never the less if you wish to improve your own odds of survival and increase the chances of a better outcome for yourself and for anyone else you are responsible for – this is something you need to work on now.
By the way, I am not talking about fake ass bravado – or talk – either. I am talking about what is really going on inside your own head.
For many years while on active duty in the US Military I attended an annual firefighting school. I usually volunteered to be the number one or number two nozzleman. That meant I got to be the first or the second person to enter a burning structure and fight the fire.
Just before that evolution the other sailors gathered and waiting were excited, and somewhat nervous all at the same time. Many talked a good game and acted all brave… until the door was opened and it was time to advance into the structure!
Some had to be gently persuaded (pushed!) to move forward. Yet here is the thing, the more one goes through such training the easier it is to remain calm and just do the job at hand – which is one of the main objectives in the first place.
Sure there are certain technical tasks that need to be learned and skills that need to be honed – but that’s easy. The critical part is to get people trained to think and react appropriately for a positive outcome instead of going to hell in a handbasket as soon as things come unglued.
Martial Arts teaches the same lesson in other ways. It is not natural to be punched in the face or be kicked – for most people anyway.
Mike Tyson has a quote that I love which is “Everyone has a plan ’til they get punched in the mouth”.
Most people who are not trained will again panic and adrenalin kicks in and they are a flurry of action – for about 60 seconds – if that. Then they are gassed out and in deep trouble. Others literally freeze up or go into curl up and cover mode. That is how you die – or at least get the crap kicked out of you, depending on the aggressor.
When you have training, you are far more likely to stay relatively calm, and again – to control your own breathing. You will also act without much conscious thought – instinctively based on your training and practice.
In such a case anyone who has been so stupid as to have initiated a fight with you is most likely the one that is going to soon be laying on the ground bleeding and unconscious.
Again – which position you wind up in is predetermined more often than not by your own mindset and by your own PREPARATIONS as a result of that same mindset.
When you have a better mindset (and some information and training) you are far more likely to think things through and anticipate many of the things that can go wrong – and that are likely to do so. As a result, you are far more likely to have the resources and the skillsets you need ahead of time.
Want to Become a Prepper and a Survivalist?
Start by getting your head right. Work on your mindset. Then start collecting core information and getting training and taking action consistently. Action is always required, by the way.
Thinking is necessary and a damn good start – but you must couple that with consistent action too. Then you are going to be far better off and so much more ahead of the game compared to those who don’t get it and don’t do this when shit comes unglued.
And make no mistake – shit will come unglued.
In this crazy-ass world we all live in, that is becoming more and more frequent and more severe too. Get ready NOW.