Domains of Survival

Life is a very complicated realm. As with most things in life some people excel in some areas and falter in others. We tend to focus on what we do well and ignore our weaknesses. It is difficult for many to even admit they have weaknesses because to admit weakness means we have an obligation to address it. It means that we are less than perfect, ill prepared, and not well rounded. Too often our self-perception tends to be more positive than reality. This is human nature. We like to emphasize the good and diminish the bad.  Yet, if you claim to be a prepper, survivalist, prepared citizen, or just ready for what may come then you owe it to yourself to conduct and honest self-reflection to inventory your strengths and weaknesses. Too often I have encountered people whose ego exceeds their skill level. These people are setting themselves up for failure. This can be avoided with honest self-reflection.

Generally, preppers are preparing for the worst case scenario. They have their go bags ready, plenty of food and water, a safe shelter, a 4 wheel drive vehicle, and all the “gear” they need to survive their crisis. It is exactly during this crisis that your weaknesses will rise to the surface. It is also the worst time to have to deal with these problems that arise. Life is a very complicated realm. Life is multifaceted. Life is not one dimensional. Let’s review some domains of life that may not be thought of yet are important parts of prepping and crisis management. What is covered is not necessarily all encompassing.

Life Domains:

Health

If you are in poor health or not physically fit to handle the extra stress and workload during a crisis you will be severely hampered in your ability to survive. I am always amused when I see “preppers” on YouTube proudly displaying their survival stuff as they are out of breath just talking to the camera. They are overweight, out of shape, and physically not prepared. If you fit into this category go to your doctor to be evaluated and to develop a plan to get you as healthy as possible.  

It is also understandable that some people have medical conditions that will not improve. In these cases it is important to be in as good of shape as your condition will allow. Never criticize someone who is doing the best with what they have. If someone is confined to a wheelchair or has a chronic medical ailment the key is to manage your condition as best as possible. Chronic medical conditions only add to the complexity of managing a crisis. This is a difficult situation.  

Legal

Too often people state that they will behave in an illegal manner during a crisis. Now, there may be times when one is faced with a situation when breaking the law may be necessary. But, I encourage people to remain legal, moral, and ethical during times of crisis. A crisis does not give you the right to behave in a manner that is contrary to your normal behavior.

A “Without Rule of Law” (WROL) situation would be a very uncommon situation in the United States. If a WROL situation occurred over an extended period of time you may very well be placed in situations where you have to make very difficult decisions. Do what you need to do to protect yourself and your family. But remember you still may be held accountable for your actions at a later point in time. And, even if you are not held legally responsible you still have to live with the decisions you make. An unintended consequence might be how your spouse and children react to your decisions. It is important to have an ethical and moral compass to help guide your decisions.

Relationships

In this domain I am specifically referring to your spouse and/or children. A crisis is difficult on everyone involved even if you are relatively well prepared. You cannot escape the added stress that comes with a crisis. If your relationship with family is strained during normal times expect them to get worse during a crisis. Yes, there is the possibility that the crisis will bring everyone together but this is no guarantee. Now is the time to fix strained or broken relationships. The key to a healthy relationship is compromise and creating a win/win atmosphere for all parties involved. During a crisis it is especially important to have strong family bonds so that you build off the family dynamic.

Financial

The economic crisis our country has faced over the last 5 years has reached almost everyone except for the very wealthy. Many Americans have lost their jobs, homes, savings, and self-esteem. Credit card debt and bills have really placed a burden on the majority of people. If you fit into this category develop a plan to become financially stable. Unfortunately it is easy to get into debt and difficult to get out of its grasp. Develop a plan and work it. It may take you years to get financially healthy but you have to start somewhere.

Knowledge

Knowledge is king. Knowledge is power. Knowledge is strength. Following is a quote I recently came across:

“Buckminster Fuller created the “Knowledge Doubling Curve”; he noticed that until 1900 human knowledge doubled approximately every century. By the end of World War II knowledge was doubling every 25 years. Today things are not as simple as different types of knowledge have different rates of growth. For example, nanotechnology knowledge is doubling every two years and clinical knowledge every 18 months. But on average human knowledge is doubling every 13 months.  According to IBM, the build out of the “internet of things” will lead to the doubling of knowledge every 12 hours.”

It is safe to say that it is virtually impossible to keep up with the expansion of knowledge. Yet, it is critical to know as much as possible about areas that are important to your activities. Also, because so much knowledge is available it is important to be able to quickly and accurately obtain the relevant information to your needs and discard the rest. This may not be as easy as it sounds especially if you lack formal education that has exposed you to research methodology.

It is important to have knowledge on a wide variety of subjects such as: medicine, pharmacology, psychology, hunting, weapons, ballistics, food storage and preparation, electricity, astronomy, meteorology, veterinary medicine, engineering, radio communications, information technology, etc.

Safety

At the end of the day most preppers prep to provide a level of safety for themselves and their family. Safety is a wide topic that encompasses a lot of different aspects. Too many preppers think safety is just about guns and ammo but this would be a very simplistic view. Safety also involves tactics, techniques, mindset, verbal de-escalation, use of force, legal aspects, surveillance, intelligence, communications, etc. Safety is much more than the ability to squeeze a trigger. The majority of preppers need to expand their horizons well beyond the guns and ammo philosophy. Otherwise they will be ill prepared to respond appropriately.

Conclusion

There are many other domains that can be included in this article but it is up to you to evaluate your needs through honest self-assessment and reflection. Work on areas that need to be improved or developed and spend less time on what you do well. Being a one trick pony is not a survival plan.

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//TC

© 2013