Being aware of your surroundings - knowing what is going on around you, who is around you and what they are doing - is a key element to your personal safety and one of the most basic ways to keep from becoming a "victim" of a crime. Many of you may already know about the Cooper Color Codes - assigning a "color" so you can match your state of readiness with your state of awareness - it is really easy to learn and practice.
The color code system of awareness has 5 states of readiness:
* White: unaware, not paying attention
* Yellow: attentive, but relaxed
* Orange: focus is directed, there is an immediate potential threat
* Red: there is a definitive threat
* Black: you are actively fighting
Instead of re-writing it all here, click to this website to the Women's Self Defense Institute where you can learn all about what these are and then get busy putting them in to practice every day!
States of Awareness - The Cooper Color Codes
Showing posts with label practice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label practice. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
Spring Means Appleseed!
Now that Spring is here, it's time to get to work and find an RWVA Appleseed event in your area! My daughter and I are attending one this year; my husband attended one a few years ago and has recommended it to everyone he knows. If you aren't familiar with Appleseed - here's what it is all about, taken from the RWVA Appleseed website:
WHAT IS APPLESEED?
The Appleseed Program is designed to take you from being a simple rifle owner to being a true rifleman. An American tradition, the rifleman has been defined as a marksman capable of hitting a man-sized target from 500 yards away - no ifs, ands or buts about it. This 500-yard range is traditionally known as "the rifleman's quarter-mile." A rifleman can hit just about any target he can see within that radius. Marksmanship skill (albeit with smoothbore muskets) was particularly evident in the birth of our country, and was the difference in winning the Revolutionary War, right from the first day.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
The fee for 2010 Appleseed Events is unchanged from last year: $45 a day or $70 for the weekend. Free for Women, Youth Under 21yrs, Active Military, Guard or Reserve with ID. "Pay at the door" fees: $50 a day or $80 for the weekend. Participants may be required to pay a range fee to be collected by the range.
NOTE : Online registration ends 24 hours prior to the event, in order to process paper work. If you miss it, you can still register at the door!
WHERE ARE THE SHOOTS HELD?
Appleseed shoots are held in most states - just visit the website, click on Schedule and you can filter by state to find one near you.
HOW CAN I LEARN MORE?
Visit the RWVA Appleseed website by clicking on the link. If you decide to attend an Appleseed event, the website has great information that will tell you how to prepare and what you need to bring.
See you at Appleseed!
WHAT IS APPLESEED?
The Appleseed Program is designed to take you from being a simple rifle owner to being a true rifleman. An American tradition, the rifleman has been defined as a marksman capable of hitting a man-sized target from 500 yards away - no ifs, ands or buts about it. This 500-yard range is traditionally known as "the rifleman's quarter-mile." A rifleman can hit just about any target he can see within that radius. Marksmanship skill (albeit with smoothbore muskets) was particularly evident in the birth of our country, and was the difference in winning the Revolutionary War, right from the first day.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
The fee for 2010 Appleseed Events is unchanged from last year: $45 a day or $70 for the weekend. Free for Women, Youth Under 21yrs, Active Military, Guard or Reserve with ID. "Pay at the door" fees: $50 a day or $80 for the weekend. Participants may be required to pay a range fee to be collected by the range.
NOTE : Online registration ends 24 hours prior to the event, in order to process paper work. If you miss it, you can still register at the door!
WHERE ARE THE SHOOTS HELD?
| Upcoming TN shoots: | |
| April 2010 | |
| Kingsport, TN - Apr 17-18 | Information or Register |
| Lobelville, TN - Apr 17-18 | Information or Register |
| Manchester, TN - Apr 17-18 | Information or Register |
| Maynardville, TN - Apr 17-18 | Information or Register |
| Puryear, TN - Apr 17-18 | Information or Register |
| May 2010 | |
| Manchester, TN - May 22-23 | Information or Register |
| June 2010 | |
| Puryear, TN - Jun 19-20 | Information or Register |
| September 2010 | |
| Manchester, TN - Sep 4-5 | Information or Register |
| Puryear, TN - Sep 4-6 | Information or Register |
HOW CAN I LEARN MORE?
Visit the RWVA Appleseed website by clicking on the link. If you decide to attend an Appleseed event, the website has great information that will tell you how to prepare and what you need to bring.
See you at Appleseed!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Hardship Drill - Could You?
Guest post from Ohio Preppers Network.
Hardship drill
Hardship drill
Fire drills. Hurricane/tornado evacuation drills. Home intruder drills. Bug-out drills. All essential activities to engage in as part of your and your families preps. However, these address preparing for more or less single isolated events-- although you should also prepare for the aftermath. But what about preparing for hardships like job loss? Sure, you have a cache of food stores, hopefully of cash on hand, etc. What more can you do?
I'd like to suggest the "Hardship Drill." A Hardship Drill is a longer-term prepping activity designed to help you and your family learn how to deal with deprivation. Here's what I have in mind, but each family could tailor this to their own situation and habits.
I'm suggesting that each family member give up something for a week. That something should now be a regular item in the family's budget, and preferably one that ain't cheap. It could be a service like home internet, cable TV (hey Dad, can you live for a week without NFL ticket?), or cell phone service (or maybe just the texting feature). Whatever it is, it should be something you are now spending money on that might find itself on the chopping block if you are forced to cut expenses. Alternatively, the entire family could give up the same thing and go through withdrawl together!
I know some of you are living a real Hardship Drill that's lasting longer than a week. What do you think? Is it worth preparing for the psychological effects of "downsizing" a household?
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Fire Starters
Gear Review: Fire Starters
Author: MathiasjMaking a fire is the most important thing in a survival situation. It can provide you with warmth, food, and a huge moral booster. Fire is also useful when camping and for fellowship of friends and family. There are many different ways to start a fire and knowing different ways to start a fire is important whether you're in a survival situation or not. A fire needs 3 elements to burn (fire triangle) heat, fuel, and oxygen. Sufficient heat is needed to start any fire, and the proper fuel to oxygen ratio is needed to keep a fire going.
First off is the trusty lighter or matches. Every prepper should have a few packs of quality Bic lighters put back, and a few thousand matches. This is the easiest way to start a fire. When starting any fire you will need something to burn to get the wood going. Newspaper is good to use to start a fire, and those free want ad papers at gas stations are great to have on hand. You want to stay away from using fuels to light a fire, especially if you plan on cooking over the fire. You run the risk of getting those chemicals on your food.
The next best thing to a lighter or matches is a firesteel. A firesteel should be part of every preppers survival kit. Whether it's your get home bag, everyday carry, bug out bag, or camping supplies; a firesteel is invaluable. If you're lighter runs out, or your matches get wet, your fire steel is your last line of defense so to speak. A firesteel works by moving a metal blade across a magnesium alloy to create sparks that can get up to 5,500°F. Those hot sparks can be thrown on a number of different types of tinder to start a flame that will light your fire. Firesteels can even be used in the rain or snow and will last for around 12,000 strikes.Here are some ideas for tinder:
-Vaseline Soaked Cotton Balls
-Hand Sanitizer Soaked Cotton Balls
-Dryer Lint
-Pine Needles
-Dried Grass
-Unraveled twine
There are a lot of ways to start fires in the wilderness if you don't have a lighter or firesteel. I will do a part 2 to this post detailing some ways to start a fire without them. This post is to show that you need to have these things on hand so you don't have to rub sticks together to try to keep yourself warm at night. A firesteel can fit in your pocket and is a crucial part of your everyday carry.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Preparedness Cross-Training
Here's something to think about this fine fall weekend if you haven't already: Among your immediate prepper "family" or "mutual support group" - how much cross-training do you have?
Is this something you have thought much about? Not only how much cross-training do you have, but how much do you think you need? In what particular areas? If you had to be self-sufficient for a period of time, do you have enough people to do all the things that would need to be done in a day?
My mind has been thinking on this topic again recently, since my husband received mobilization orders and left this past week for a one-year assignment with the Army. He's stateside and will probably be able to come home for weekend visit every 2-3 months - so we're fortunate in that regard.
Given a lot of the things going on these days though - businesses still closing, unemployment still going up, homes still going into foreclosure, restlessness about the looming healthcare bill, concern about our economic stability, concerns about Iran, Iraq, terrorism in general, the swine flu, upcoming winter weather - there are lots of things to think about and pay attention to that could have an impact on your day-to-day life and survival.
Knowing that my husband won't be here on a day-to-day basis has made me spend some time thinking again about our preparedness plans and how they would (or would not!) work without him here to be a major participant in our plans.
We all tend to gravitate toward preparedness activities that we enjoy doing or know how to do well. And I'd venture to guess that in most families, Dad has his set of skills and areas he takes care of, Mom has hers and together they probably assign activities to any of the children that are around.
So if you take Dad or Mom out of the picture - how do your plans work? Where are the holes? Seems to me that cross-training would be a good idea to keep things going as smoothly as possible. Which means you have to think about what areas to cross-train, who to train, how frequently will you have them practice to learn and keep their skills, etc.
For example, I know how to build a great fire to heat our home and we've put in 3 new cords of wood this year (we're in West TN remember, it doesn't get super cold here for extended periods of time). We're narrowing down wood stove inserts and plan to purchase one in the next couple of weeks - it will have the ability to heat our entire home if necessary and also have a cooktop. So our ability to heat our home and have an alternative cooking method is in good shape. This year I'll be teaching our oldest child (age 10) how to start a fire and keep it going as good as I can.
Something I don't know a lot about though, is running the new generator we've purchased. I haven't seen it in operation yet. Also, we recently purchased a set of solar panels, 125 amp and 265 amp batteries, inverter - but this is another area that I don't know a lot about and need additional training if I want to make these useful to me. Hubby knows all about these items, but since we got them in place just before he left, he hasn't had the chance to cross-train me.
My oldest child at age 10 knows how to do quite a bit of cooking, laundry, basic cleaning, learned to mow the lawn this year, etc.
We take quite a bit of time to try to train our children how to do things that are part of our day-to-day lives and as they grow and mature, we add to these things like archery skills, shooting sports and safe gun handling, livestock care, etc.
Some preppers have taken the time to prepare elaborate notebooks with instructions so any member of their family can pick up the notebook and have detailed instructions about a variety of necessary tasks.
We haven't done this yet, but I know it is a great idea and one I'll be working on throughout this fall. Most of us have lots of information in our heads that we know intimately, but if we needed a spouse, child, friend or neighbor to pick up in our stead, there might be a few or many bumps along the way without a written plan.
I realize some personality types would see this level of detailed instruction as a nightmare. But there is probably someone in your immediate prepper group who would see the value of this level of preparedness and would take on the task of getting at least your most critical instructions in writing.
So now you know what's on my mind for the weekend and beyond - feel free to share any ideas or thoughts you have about cross-training - have you done it already? is it on your "to do" list? how will you accomplish it? have you set up a notebook of instructions? We'd love to hear your ideas.
Is this something you have thought much about? Not only how much cross-training do you have, but how much do you think you need? In what particular areas? If you had to be self-sufficient for a period of time, do you have enough people to do all the things that would need to be done in a day?
My mind has been thinking on this topic again recently, since my husband received mobilization orders and left this past week for a one-year assignment with the Army. He's stateside and will probably be able to come home for weekend visit every 2-3 months - so we're fortunate in that regard.
Given a lot of the things going on these days though - businesses still closing, unemployment still going up, homes still going into foreclosure, restlessness about the looming healthcare bill, concern about our economic stability, concerns about Iran, Iraq, terrorism in general, the swine flu, upcoming winter weather - there are lots of things to think about and pay attention to that could have an impact on your day-to-day life and survival.
Knowing that my husband won't be here on a day-to-day basis has made me spend some time thinking again about our preparedness plans and how they would (or would not!) work without him here to be a major participant in our plans.
We all tend to gravitate toward preparedness activities that we enjoy doing or know how to do well. And I'd venture to guess that in most families, Dad has his set of skills and areas he takes care of, Mom has hers and together they probably assign activities to any of the children that are around.
So if you take Dad or Mom out of the picture - how do your plans work? Where are the holes? Seems to me that cross-training would be a good idea to keep things going as smoothly as possible. Which means you have to think about what areas to cross-train, who to train, how frequently will you have them practice to learn and keep their skills, etc.
For example, I know how to build a great fire to heat our home and we've put in 3 new cords of wood this year (we're in West TN remember, it doesn't get super cold here for extended periods of time). We're narrowing down wood stove inserts and plan to purchase one in the next couple of weeks - it will have the ability to heat our entire home if necessary and also have a cooktop. So our ability to heat our home and have an alternative cooking method is in good shape. This year I'll be teaching our oldest child (age 10) how to start a fire and keep it going as good as I can.
Something I don't know a lot about though, is running the new generator we've purchased. I haven't seen it in operation yet. Also, we recently purchased a set of solar panels, 125 amp and 265 amp batteries, inverter - but this is another area that I don't know a lot about and need additional training if I want to make these useful to me. Hubby knows all about these items, but since we got them in place just before he left, he hasn't had the chance to cross-train me.
My oldest child at age 10 knows how to do quite a bit of cooking, laundry, basic cleaning, learned to mow the lawn this year, etc.
We take quite a bit of time to try to train our children how to do things that are part of our day-to-day lives and as they grow and mature, we add to these things like archery skills, shooting sports and safe gun handling, livestock care, etc.
Some preppers have taken the time to prepare elaborate notebooks with instructions so any member of their family can pick up the notebook and have detailed instructions about a variety of necessary tasks.
We haven't done this yet, but I know it is a great idea and one I'll be working on throughout this fall. Most of us have lots of information in our heads that we know intimately, but if we needed a spouse, child, friend or neighbor to pick up in our stead, there might be a few or many bumps along the way without a written plan.
I realize some personality types would see this level of detailed instruction as a nightmare. But there is probably someone in your immediate prepper group who would see the value of this level of preparedness and would take on the task of getting at least your most critical instructions in writing.
So now you know what's on my mind for the weekend and beyond - feel free to share any ideas or thoughts you have about cross-training - have you done it already? is it on your "to do" list? how will you accomplish it? have you set up a notebook of instructions? We'd love to hear your ideas.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
How Do You Prep?
There have been some interesting discussions on a few different forum boards this week about how people go about their business of prepping.
Do you make a list and head into it, trying to get everything accomplished as quickly as possible?
Do you pick an area where you feel you are weakest and try to get it up to speed?
Do you pick an area that is your favorite and charge ahead?
Do you have areas that you don't really know much about, so you put them on the back burner?
There is a tendency for most people to pick areas they know and love to work on, because it is comfortable. If you love to collect guns and ammo, for example, it definitely isn't hard for you to concentrate on this area. If you love to cook and can, as I do, then food preps are always on my list of "we can never have enough".
But it pays to take a little time to do an overall assessment of what you have, where you are, where you are headed and where you'd like to end up. For many preppers, prepping is something that is never quite "done", it is an ongoing process.
I think that is how it is for us. We know our major areas of concentration: food, light, heat, shelter, first aid, sanitation, backup power, communications, etc... We have our lists of what we have now, what we need immediately, what we need in the next 3-6 months, what we need long-term (when the budget allows) and what is on our "dream" list. Then we try to keep adding to our lists - usually we try to do something to add to our preparedness activities at least weekly.
We are always on the lookout for something that is on sale or a good deal, even if it isn't on our immediate list, because it might represent a buying opportunity.
And my husband is constantly reading and trying to learn new ways of doing things or adding to our preparedness "skills" in addition to our prep items. Knowing that with a young family it is not possible to budget for "unlimited" preps, it is important for us to know how to "regenerate" some of the items that might get used up in a time of extended emergency.
So while it is good to have a basic level of preparedness "items", it also pays to constantly try to learn preparedness "skills". For example, you can store water but at some point it might be really prudent to know how to make a rain catchment and filtration system. You can store propane for cooking, but at some point it might be nice to know how to make a wood-fired stove or oven, or how to solar cook.
There is a wealth of information across the internet about many different preparedness skills - so don't forget in your efforts to put up preparedness "items" to take some time to learn preparedness "skills" along the way as well.
NOTE: Stay tuned this weekend for a guest post - Everything you want to know about how to build a great Get Home Bag (GHB). Many of us carry these in our vehicles wherever we go, just in case there is an emergency while we are out; these bags have the essentials we need to get us back home.
Do you make a list and head into it, trying to get everything accomplished as quickly as possible?
Do you pick an area where you feel you are weakest and try to get it up to speed?
Do you pick an area that is your favorite and charge ahead?
Do you have areas that you don't really know much about, so you put them on the back burner?
There is a tendency for most people to pick areas they know and love to work on, because it is comfortable. If you love to collect guns and ammo, for example, it definitely isn't hard for you to concentrate on this area. If you love to cook and can, as I do, then food preps are always on my list of "we can never have enough".
But it pays to take a little time to do an overall assessment of what you have, where you are, where you are headed and where you'd like to end up. For many preppers, prepping is something that is never quite "done", it is an ongoing process.
I think that is how it is for us. We know our major areas of concentration: food, light, heat, shelter, first aid, sanitation, backup power, communications, etc... We have our lists of what we have now, what we need immediately, what we need in the next 3-6 months, what we need long-term (when the budget allows) and what is on our "dream" list. Then we try to keep adding to our lists - usually we try to do something to add to our preparedness activities at least weekly.
We are always on the lookout for something that is on sale or a good deal, even if it isn't on our immediate list, because it might represent a buying opportunity.
And my husband is constantly reading and trying to learn new ways of doing things or adding to our preparedness "skills" in addition to our prep items. Knowing that with a young family it is not possible to budget for "unlimited" preps, it is important for us to know how to "regenerate" some of the items that might get used up in a time of extended emergency.
So while it is good to have a basic level of preparedness "items", it also pays to constantly try to learn preparedness "skills". For example, you can store water but at some point it might be really prudent to know how to make a rain catchment and filtration system. You can store propane for cooking, but at some point it might be nice to know how to make a wood-fired stove or oven, or how to solar cook.
There is a wealth of information across the internet about many different preparedness skills - so don't forget in your efforts to put up preparedness "items" to take some time to learn preparedness "skills" along the way as well.
NOTE: Stay tuned this weekend for a guest post - Everything you want to know about how to build a great Get Home Bag (GHB). Many of us carry these in our vehicles wherever we go, just in case there is an emergency while we are out; these bags have the essentials we need to get us back home.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
TN Appleseed Instructional Shoot in Sept
Here's the info from an email I received this weekend. My husband attended this session last year and had a great time. As a reminder: Military, Women and those under 21 can attend for FREE.
Puryear, TN Appleseed - Sept 5-7, 2009
Date:
Saturday, September 05, 2009 at 8:30 AM
- to -
Monday, September 07, 2009 at 4:00 PM (CT)
Location:
Henry County Gun Club
1995 Goldston Spring Rd
Puryear, TN
More Information about Appleseed and what they do: CLICK HERE:
Registration for this event - CLICK HERE
Quote:
You are invited to the following event:Puryear, TN Appleseed - Sept 5-7, 2009
Date:
Saturday, September 05, 2009 at 8:30 AM
- to -
Monday, September 07, 2009 at 4:00 PM (CT)
Location:
Henry County Gun Club
1995 Goldston Spring Rd
Puryear, TN
More Information about Appleseed and what they do: CLICK HERE:
Registration for this event - CLICK HERE
Lady Preppers Show Download
Thanks for everyone who listened in on our very first Lady Preppers forum on the James Stevens' Family Preparedness Guide on Blog Talk Radio!
If you missed the chance to listen in on yesterday's live show, you can still download the show by going to this link: James Stevens' Family Preparedness Guide - Lady Preppers.
While we had one hour on the air live, we continued to talk and discuss for another hour, so it is actually a 2 hour show!
We had a great time and are looking forward to becoming a regular part of his talk show in the near future - with specific topics that we'll be addressing each time.
So, if you are new to prepping and have lots of burning questions - start writing them down and if you want you can even feel free to email them to me.
The one thing I really love about being part of the American Preppers Group is how well we all share information. If you are just getting started with your prepping activities, the information shared throughout our state networks can easily take you from 0 to 100 in much less time than you could possibly research and learn everything all by yourself.
So, come along for the ride, check the Family Preparedness Guide radio schedule often and get your questions ready!
If you missed the chance to listen in on yesterday's live show, you can still download the show by going to this link: James Stevens' Family Preparedness Guide - Lady Preppers.
While we had one hour on the air live, we continued to talk and discuss for another hour, so it is actually a 2 hour show!
We had a great time and are looking forward to becoming a regular part of his talk show in the near future - with specific topics that we'll be addressing each time.
So, if you are new to prepping and have lots of burning questions - start writing them down and if you want you can even feel free to email them to me.
The one thing I really love about being part of the American Preppers Group is how well we all share information. If you are just getting started with your prepping activities, the information shared throughout our state networks can easily take you from 0 to 100 in much less time than you could possibly research and learn everything all by yourself.
So, come along for the ride, check the Family Preparedness Guide radio schedule often and get your questions ready!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Making a Scent Article
Our local home-school group had a field trip a few weeks ago with a local search and rescue team. They taught the group that having a scent article for each member of the family was a prudent thing to have on hand if going hiking, camping, fishing, etc.
When this information was shared with me, I started thinking about what a good idea it might be to always have a scent article for each family member in each of our vehicles, our 72-hour kits and/or other survival gear/kits as applicable.
Many of us have seen shows on TV where a child comes up missing and mom/dad grab the first article of clothing they can find for the dogs to use to track the child.
This method is not a good way to provide a person's scent however. Whatever article of clothing you have on today also has scents from everyone else you came in contact with, food odors, pollution odors - it is covered up in scents other than yours and would not be the "best" article to use for your scent article.
Here's how the local search and rescue team taught our group to make a scent article:
**If you are assisting someone, such as a child or elderly person, in making a scent article, make sure to use latex gloves when handling the article and the zip bag**
Needed:
~ 1 sealed handkerchief or gauze pad
~ 1 quart-size freezer zip-lock bag
~ 1 sharpie marker
~ 1 pair latex gloves if assisting someone else
Steps for making your scent article:
1. Remove handkerchief or gauze pad from sealed package.
2. Rub the handkerchief or gauze pad all over your body for several minutes.
3. Open zip-lock bag and place handkerchief or gauze pad inside.
4. Seal bag.
5. On the bag, write the person's name, date the article was made and FOR SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM ONLY.
6. For best results, store in the freezer.
**Scent articles should be updated about every 6 months to ensure freshest scent, although some people have had theirs tested up to a year later and found the scent was viable.
**If you go hiking, camping, fishing, etc., leave the scent article on the front seat of your vehicle so that rescue personnel could easily see it.
Think about what a great item this would be for a family with a loved one who has Alzheimer's Disease that might wander off - the possibilities where something like this could come in handy are numerous, so I thought I'd share it with you all.
When this information was shared with me, I started thinking about what a good idea it might be to always have a scent article for each family member in each of our vehicles, our 72-hour kits and/or other survival gear/kits as applicable.
Many of us have seen shows on TV where a child comes up missing and mom/dad grab the first article of clothing they can find for the dogs to use to track the child.
This method is not a good way to provide a person's scent however. Whatever article of clothing you have on today also has scents from everyone else you came in contact with, food odors, pollution odors - it is covered up in scents other than yours and would not be the "best" article to use for your scent article.
Here's how the local search and rescue team taught our group to make a scent article:
**If you are assisting someone, such as a child or elderly person, in making a scent article, make sure to use latex gloves when handling the article and the zip bag**
Needed:
~ 1 sealed handkerchief or gauze pad
~ 1 quart-size freezer zip-lock bag
~ 1 sharpie marker
~ 1 pair latex gloves if assisting someone else
Steps for making your scent article:
1. Remove handkerchief or gauze pad from sealed package.
2. Rub the handkerchief or gauze pad all over your body for several minutes.
3. Open zip-lock bag and place handkerchief or gauze pad inside.
4. Seal bag.
5. On the bag, write the person's name, date the article was made and FOR SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM ONLY.
6. For best results, store in the freezer.
**Scent articles should be updated about every 6 months to ensure freshest scent, although some people have had theirs tested up to a year later and found the scent was viable.
**If you go hiking, camping, fishing, etc., leave the scent article on the front seat of your vehicle so that rescue personnel could easily see it.
Think about what a great item this would be for a family with a loved one who has Alzheimer's Disease that might wander off - the possibilities where something like this could come in handy are numerous, so I thought I'd share it with you all.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Works of a Master Prepper
I don't know about you, but sometimes I learn more from reading about something in a story format than I do studying the facts and figures.
There is a Master Prepper out there by the name of Jerry D. Young who writes stories that encompass the fine Art of Prepping like few others can. Almost all of Jerry's stories are free, but the wealth of how-to information that you'll take away from them will make you quickly realize their value.
Jerry posts most of his work in the "Books, Movies and Stories" section on Survivalist Forum, although he does have a website of his own as well ~ Jerry D. Young Library.
I'd like to introduce you to Jerry and some of his work. You'll be glad you had a chance to meet. Enjoy!
Bad Times Coming, Chapter 1
Shake, Shake, Shake (Youth)
Influences
Rudy's Preparedness Shop
Low Profile
Who's That Cowboy?
Dominic Santelli, Prepper
Disaster In The Burbs
A Recovery Thread
Is The Mail Here Yet?
Jerry's ad-free Preparedness site
Jerry's E-book ~ Mr. Man
Jerry's published book ~ Shipwrecked
There is a Master Prepper out there by the name of Jerry D. Young who writes stories that encompass the fine Art of Prepping like few others can. Almost all of Jerry's stories are free, but the wealth of how-to information that you'll take away from them will make you quickly realize their value.
Jerry posts most of his work in the "Books, Movies and Stories" section on Survivalist Forum, although he does have a website of his own as well ~ Jerry D. Young Library.
I'd like to introduce you to Jerry and some of his work. You'll be glad you had a chance to meet. Enjoy!
Bad Times Coming, Chapter 1
Shake, Shake, Shake (Youth)
Influences
Rudy's Preparedness Shop
Low Profile
Who's That Cowboy?
Dominic Santelli, Prepper
Disaster In The Burbs
A Recovery Thread
Is The Mail Here Yet?
Jerry's ad-free Preparedness site
Jerry's E-book ~ Mr. Man
Jerry's published book ~ Shipwrecked
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Mindset and Practice
So far, we've talked a little about what preparedness planning is, how to identify things to prepare for in your area, how to put together your 72-Hour Kit for each family member and one for each vehicle.
Today I want to spend some time talking about Mindset, Attitude and Practice ~ because these are the things that will actually save your life if you ever need to put any of your preparedness plan into action. I hope that after reading the information here that you'll understand the importance of practicing your preparedness skills.
We've all grown up hearing the phrase "practice make perfect". Well, in reality it should read like this "PERFECT practice makes perfect". Why?
Because the more we practice something, the more ingrained it becomes in our brains until it forms a habit or an automatic response - something we can do automatically without thinking about it much at all.
If we are practicing something incorrectly, it stands to reason that all we are doing is teaching ourselves an incorrect habit, right? This is true.
This is why you will find people who are "at the top" of any game or sport have practiced ruthlessly over and over and over until they have it right. Then they keep on practicing it the "right" way over and over again. It isn't enough to just know how to shoot a basketball toward the basket, they practice until they can instinctively find the basket and hit it from anywhere on the court.
This is the same way we should approach our family emergency preparedness planning. We should practice it with the same level of desire for success ~ because if we ever need to use our skills in this area, it could be a life or death situation for our family and chances are it will be stressful. I want to know that I have excellent chances at winning when the stakes are so high - don't you?
For example, I don't want to be learning how to operate our kerosene heater AFTER the ice storm arrives, I want to know that I know how to make it work for me well before the first ice pellet ever hits the ground. I don't want to find out that my backup weather radio has dead batteries during a major tornado warning - I want to make sure it is always at the ready.
Our mindset and attitude are what will determine how successful we are at not only "perfectly practicing" our preparedness skills, but also how we put them into action when an emergency arises.
It takes commitment to practice skills that we don't need on a daily basis and hopefully might not need at all. But our mindset and attitude should tell us that we need to practice these skills anyway.
Numerous studies have shown that the brain can "ACT" quicker than it can "REACT". Think about this for a minute. To "act" implies an immediate response or course of action. To "react" requires that we first identify if there is a problem, what the problem is, then we decide how to respond to it.
Which of these do you think is a quicker way to respond in the event of a life or death emergency? ACTing is always quicker than REACTing. The only way to be prepared to ACT in the event of an emergency is through "perfect practice" - making your actions an ingrained habit.
Here are a couple of great examples of the importance of training yourself to ACT instead of REACT.
In my local paper last year, there was an article about the boy scouts who were caught up in a tornado while out camping. What struck me most about the article was this quote:
"On Tuesday, the Scouts learned what to do before, during and after a tornado. So on Wednesday night, after the twister passed, the Scouts took a head count, just as they had practiced. Then, just as they practiced, they administered first aid to the wounded."
Boy scouts practice their skills all the time until the become very proficient at them. They go on camp outs for the sole purpose of practicing their skills. And their practice here saved lives.
More recently, we've been reading about all the people in Kentucky who had not prepared at all, apparently, for the coming ice storm. They didn't have generators. They didn't have extra food that didn't require refrigeration. They didn't have little propane stoves to cook on so they could have a warm meal. They didn't have a backup method for heating their home. They didn't have a plan for what they would do if the power outage happened to last for weeks. We've ready article after article about how unprepared the majority of people in the state were for the ice storm. And it didn't have to be that way. They had advance warning. Many could have been much more prepared than they were.
In the May 29, 2008 issue of Time Magazine, there is an article about How To Survive a Disaster. The best parts of the article are reading about what people didn't do in response to impending disaster and how their inaction ultimately lead to their deaths.
People who study disasters and survival teach that when faced with disaster or impending disaster, most people go into "freeze mode". They either don't realize disaster is about to strike, they don't know what to do to try to survive, they deny disaster is about to strike, or they never saw it coming. In all these situations, people will "freeze" instead of "act".
Quite simply their brains had never, ever thought about the possibility of such an event happening and they had no automatic response for it, so they simply didn't respond at all. They froze instead.
The only way to make sure you don't "freeze" is to have perfectly practiced your "what if" scenarios for your preparedness plan so you have a survivor mindset. You can do things like:
~ Practice with your family what you all would do in the event of a fire. Know where all the exits are from any location in your home. Know where you all would meet outside the home to take a head count and make sure everyone was out. Then have an unannounced fire drill and time it. Does everyone do what was practiced? How long did it take? Did anyone get forgotten? Did everyone meet at the appropriate location outside your home? Then keep practicing it until you believe everyone has it down pat. Is this convenient? Of course not, but essential it is.
Then go a step further. Think about the places you frequent during the day or week. What would you do if a fire started at one of those places? What is your plan of action?
~ Practice with your family what you would do in the event of a tornado warning if you are in this part of the country. Where would you take shelter inside your home? What items does each person take with them to the safe room? Or better yet, how do you prepare in advance and pre-position items in your safe area? What would you do if you were out in your vehicle or at the grocery store or the mall or other place during a tornado warning?
~ Practice with your family what you would do in the event of an earthquake if this is applicable to you. Where are the safe areas of your home should an earthquake happen? What do you do after an earthquake? And again, what if you were away from home during an earthquake? Where are the safe areas?
~ We are all reading about how crime is rising. You can practice these scenarios as well. You don't have to get involved in a crime to put your mind through the practice of thinking about how you would react - What would you do if the restaurant where you were eating got robbed while you are there? What would you do if you heard someone breaking into your home? What would you do if someone attempted to carjack you while you are at a stop light? Put your mind through the paces and know what you'd do without hesitation.
Every time you put your brain through the exercise of thinking about and practicing what you would do for your preparedness plan you take a step closer toward ACTING instead of REACTING - your actions are becoming a habit.
HOMEWORK: This week try to practice at least one of your preparedness plans with your family. Perhaps a fire drill or tornado drill - whatever is appropriate for your area based on the preparedness plan you've put together. Feel free to come back here and let me know how you all did!
Today I want to spend some time talking about Mindset, Attitude and Practice ~ because these are the things that will actually save your life if you ever need to put any of your preparedness plan into action. I hope that after reading the information here that you'll understand the importance of practicing your preparedness skills.
We've all grown up hearing the phrase "practice make perfect". Well, in reality it should read like this "PERFECT practice makes perfect". Why?
Because the more we practice something, the more ingrained it becomes in our brains until it forms a habit or an automatic response - something we can do automatically without thinking about it much at all.
If we are practicing something incorrectly, it stands to reason that all we are doing is teaching ourselves an incorrect habit, right? This is true.
This is why you will find people who are "at the top" of any game or sport have practiced ruthlessly over and over and over until they have it right. Then they keep on practicing it the "right" way over and over again. It isn't enough to just know how to shoot a basketball toward the basket, they practice until they can instinctively find the basket and hit it from anywhere on the court.
This is the same way we should approach our family emergency preparedness planning. We should practice it with the same level of desire for success ~ because if we ever need to use our skills in this area, it could be a life or death situation for our family and chances are it will be stressful. I want to know that I have excellent chances at winning when the stakes are so high - don't you?
For example, I don't want to be learning how to operate our kerosene heater AFTER the ice storm arrives, I want to know that I know how to make it work for me well before the first ice pellet ever hits the ground. I don't want to find out that my backup weather radio has dead batteries during a major tornado warning - I want to make sure it is always at the ready.
Our mindset and attitude are what will determine how successful we are at not only "perfectly practicing" our preparedness skills, but also how we put them into action when an emergency arises.
It takes commitment to practice skills that we don't need on a daily basis and hopefully might not need at all. But our mindset and attitude should tell us that we need to practice these skills anyway.
Numerous studies have shown that the brain can "ACT" quicker than it can "REACT". Think about this for a minute. To "act" implies an immediate response or course of action. To "react" requires that we first identify if there is a problem, what the problem is, then we decide how to respond to it.
Which of these do you think is a quicker way to respond in the event of a life or death emergency? ACTing is always quicker than REACTing. The only way to be prepared to ACT in the event of an emergency is through "perfect practice" - making your actions an ingrained habit.
Here are a couple of great examples of the importance of training yourself to ACT instead of REACT.
In my local paper last year, there was an article about the boy scouts who were caught up in a tornado while out camping. What struck me most about the article was this quote:
"On Tuesday, the Scouts learned what to do before, during and after a tornado. So on Wednesday night, after the twister passed, the Scouts took a head count, just as they had practiced. Then, just as they practiced, they administered first aid to the wounded."
Boy scouts practice their skills all the time until the become very proficient at them. They go on camp outs for the sole purpose of practicing their skills. And their practice here saved lives.
More recently, we've been reading about all the people in Kentucky who had not prepared at all, apparently, for the coming ice storm. They didn't have generators. They didn't have extra food that didn't require refrigeration. They didn't have little propane stoves to cook on so they could have a warm meal. They didn't have a backup method for heating their home. They didn't have a plan for what they would do if the power outage happened to last for weeks. We've ready article after article about how unprepared the majority of people in the state were for the ice storm. And it didn't have to be that way. They had advance warning. Many could have been much more prepared than they were.
In the May 29, 2008 issue of Time Magazine, there is an article about How To Survive a Disaster. The best parts of the article are reading about what people didn't do in response to impending disaster and how their inaction ultimately lead to their deaths.
People who study disasters and survival teach that when faced with disaster or impending disaster, most people go into "freeze mode". They either don't realize disaster is about to strike, they don't know what to do to try to survive, they deny disaster is about to strike, or they never saw it coming. In all these situations, people will "freeze" instead of "act".
Quite simply their brains had never, ever thought about the possibility of such an event happening and they had no automatic response for it, so they simply didn't respond at all. They froze instead.
The only way to make sure you don't "freeze" is to have perfectly practiced your "what if" scenarios for your preparedness plan so you have a survivor mindset. You can do things like:
~ Practice with your family what you all would do in the event of a fire. Know where all the exits are from any location in your home. Know where you all would meet outside the home to take a head count and make sure everyone was out. Then have an unannounced fire drill and time it. Does everyone do what was practiced? How long did it take? Did anyone get forgotten? Did everyone meet at the appropriate location outside your home? Then keep practicing it until you believe everyone has it down pat. Is this convenient? Of course not, but essential it is.
Then go a step further. Think about the places you frequent during the day or week. What would you do if a fire started at one of those places? What is your plan of action?
~ Practice with your family what you would do in the event of a tornado warning if you are in this part of the country. Where would you take shelter inside your home? What items does each person take with them to the safe room? Or better yet, how do you prepare in advance and pre-position items in your safe area? What would you do if you were out in your vehicle or at the grocery store or the mall or other place during a tornado warning?
~ Practice with your family what you would do in the event of an earthquake if this is applicable to you. Where are the safe areas of your home should an earthquake happen? What do you do after an earthquake? And again, what if you were away from home during an earthquake? Where are the safe areas?
~ We are all reading about how crime is rising. You can practice these scenarios as well. You don't have to get involved in a crime to put your mind through the practice of thinking about how you would react - What would you do if the restaurant where you were eating got robbed while you are there? What would you do if you heard someone breaking into your home? What would you do if someone attempted to carjack you while you are at a stop light? Put your mind through the paces and know what you'd do without hesitation.
Every time you put your brain through the exercise of thinking about and practicing what you would do for your preparedness plan you take a step closer toward ACTING instead of REACTING - your actions are becoming a habit.
HOMEWORK: This week try to practice at least one of your preparedness plans with your family. Perhaps a fire drill or tornado drill - whatever is appropriate for your area based on the preparedness plan you've put together. Feel free to come back here and let me know how you all did!
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