Thou Shalt be Prepared to do Without

When it all comes down to survival at the basic level, Jason Hartman reminds you to be prepared to do without a few things. Life becomes simple during an emergency situation. What do you really have to have to make it to the next day or through the next weeks or months until society finds its footing again? Food, water, shelter? Definitely.

After that, it all depends on the severity and breadth of the emergency. Say a solar flare knocks out satellites. There goes your television, internet, and perhaps lines of communication as well. The trick is to have a family emergency plan. Then you need a B plan in case the first one goes wrong. Then you need a C plan in case the first two fizzle out.

There’s word for this kind of thinking. It’s called preparedness. If you have incorporated into your mindset that you are ready to deal with any emergency and have done all the appropriate planning, your response will be second nature, smooth and effective. You might have to skip the next season of How I Met Your Mother and break out a few books but, remember, life will go on, only perhaps under more austere circumstances.

That’s what the second commandment of Holistic Survival is all about. “Be prepared to do without.” No whining or pouting. Get through it and go about the business of continuing to live a safe, prosperous life regardless of the latest curve ball thrown at you by a finicky device known as luck.

The Holistic Survival Team

Flickr / akeg