We, as Prepper’s, prepare for a wide range things that could go wrong. But let me ask you this; what if nothing major ever happens? Will you feel foolish? Will you feel like you wasted a lot of money? Will you regret all the hours of research and learning? Will you feel cheated?
I think those are important questions to consider. I think there is another question that will define and frame the answers to those questions. That is simply; why do you prepare?
On January 1st, 2013 I wrote an article called Why I Prepare here is an excerpt:
“I prepare because it is a part of who I am. No matter how the media spins it, I am not a “crazed doomsday survivalist”. I am a pragmatic realist who, to the best of my ability, wants to mitigate the things that can have a negative impact on my life.
I prepare because Proverbs 27:12 says the prudent thing to do is take precaution when we see a danger.
I do not prepare out of fear. I prepare so I do not have to be afraid. I am prepared, and therefore, I am not afraid that my family won’t have clean drinking water, food to eat, a warm place to sleep or safety from the things that go bump in the night.
I prepare because I love freedom, and being evacuated to a stadium is not my idea of freedom. If I lost everything and this was my only option, I would take it. Anything short of that and we’ll take care of ourselves, thank you.”
Why do I think it is important to ask yourself this question? If you only prepare because of an impending social and economic collapse and it never comes, you might feel like time, money and energy were wasted.
If you prepare; not only to protect against the potential negative things in life but because you value being as self-sufficient as you can be, because you just identify with the ant and think the grasshoppers are foolish, because you believe God has called you to, or for any number of reasons other than just waiting for the sky to fall, my guess is that you won’t feel like a fool. You won’t regret it because you knew you were fully able to protect your loved ones and to provide for their basic needs.
There are a lot of us who have never really put why we prepare into words. If this is you, take a few minutes and give it some thought. If you need to, take a look at the article I linked above and see if some of my reasons are close to yours. When you have a firm understanding of why you prepare, it is easier to fend off the shaking heads, the eye rolls and comments about your prepping. It is also easier to avoid burnout and avoid giving up when the one or two reasons you started to prepare never happen.
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