There's no denying that prepper gear and survival supplies are important when disaster strikes. However, preparedness also involves your habits before SHTF.
Here are 10 habits that you can start practicing if you want to become a real prepper.
(1) Be adaptable.
When SHTF, there's a chance that another disaster could take place immediately after. If you're adaptable, you can handle large-scale disasters and minor inconveniences.
Take note that even the most perfect plans can go wrong, and being adaptable can save your life when disaster strikes.
(2) Live a skills-based lifestyle.
Plans are mostly useless if you don't know how to execute them. To ensure that you can carry out your plans, make your prepping skills a part of your regular life.
Start your own vegetable garden and learn how to store food properly. You can also practice skills like marksmanship so you don't get rusty.
(3) Be a critical thinker.
The ability to think critically is a crucial prepper skill. Don't just accept what mainstream media tells you.
Know how to differentiate fact from fiction so you can make informed choices. (Related: Develop these daily habits that help you prepare for emergencies.)
(4) Have presence of mind.
If your first reaction is to panic when something unexpected happens, your chance of survival significantly decreases.
Panic can manifest in various ways. Some people may completely freeze, which is referred to as tonic immobility in psychology. Tonic immobility is a biological impulse related to an overload of stimuli due to extreme stress. This condition can manifest itself as an irrational sense of calmness while your brain denies that something bad is happening to you.
Improve your presence of mind so you can accept events as they happen and act calmly by making plans ahead of time. When SHTF you already know what to do.
(5) Have an everyday carry kit (EDC kit) with you at all times.
A prepper always has an EDC kit with them wherever they go. You should also have an emergency kit in your car so you can stay safe when SHTF while you're away from home.
Here are some items that you need to have in your EDC kit:
- Band-aids
- Emergency cash
- Lighter/waterproof matches
- Notepad
- Pen
- Pocket knife
- Small flashlight
- Whistle
Disasters often occur without any warnings but an EDC kit contains basic supplies that can help you survive when you're alone and SHTF.
(6) Know how to improvise.
If you lose your EDC kit and your prepping gear in a survival scenario, do you have enough skills to survive? If you know how to improvise, you'll figure out a way to find food, start a fire, and build shelter even with your bare hands or just one tool at your disposal.
A prepper doesn't rely solely on their tools and supplies. They know how to improvise so they can get or make what they need.
(7) Be physically active.
Exercise regularly so you can stay and shape. How else are you going to carry a backpack full of heavy gear or outrun a group of panicking people?
Being physically active also ensures that you can meet the demands of an outdoor bug-out plan.
(8) Make multi-purpose purchases.
Not everyone has unlimited storage space so you need to focus on acquiring multi-purpose supplies and gear. Unless you really need a single-use tool, get something that has various applications.
The same goes for your survival stockpile. Make sure you have pantry basics that can also be used to make natural cleaning supplies, like baking soda and vinegar.
(9) Be frugal.
Preppers know that it's important to live a zero-waste lifestyle. This includes stretching leftovers and repurposing old items.
Other people think being frugal means you're a cheapskate, but the truth is this skill will teach you how to make your supplies last for as long as possible when SHTF.
(10) Practice situational awareness.
By practicing situational awareness, you can teach yourself how to identify any possible threats to your safety. If something seems out of place, your instinct will tell you that there may be a threat that you need to avoid or face.
You can start teaching your kids situational awareness by framing an exercise in observation as a game so they can understand better. For example, if you're traveling somewhere new, challenge them to find as many exits as possible.
Preparedness doesn't end once you've prepared EDC kits for your family or amassed survival supplies in your pantry. As a prepper, you need to practice these skills in your daily life so when SHTF, you have the supplies and skills to keep your family safe.
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