Just like generations past, there are plenty of issues on the horizon that present a challenge to our day and age. Almost every day someone predicts doom is around the corner, mostly so they can point to their YouTube video or blog and say “I told you so.” We are continually hearing that:
- The Rapture is eminent.
- Hyperinflation is eminent.
- The Euro is going to collapse.
- The US dollar is going to collapse.
- Coronal mass ejection will destroy the power grid (Lights Out).
- Our citizens don’t understand their governments’ structure.
- And on and on and on.
To be certain, there are a lot of possible crisises that could happen at any time. Unfortunately or fortunately, such high impact events are nearly impossible to accurately predict in advance. A true Black Swan will not make itself known until after the fact. Anyone that tells you different is mistaken or lying. Sorry. A true SHTF scenario is not predictable.
Because we are saturated with so much gloom and doom by society in general and by being a member of the prepper community specifically, it is extremely easy to have the doomsday blues or be depressed. I am extremly positive person and sometimes the mound upon mound upon mound of negative news and predictions of more to come can be overwheming. Dealing with it on a day to day basis is not easy. Here is what I do to combat the Doomsday Blues:
- Turn it off. Stop watching Glen Beck and reading Lights Out. If you cannot turn it off, limit your exposure and realize that your mental state is affected by what you see and what you hear.
- Realize that if the US is going to collapse, there is probably nothing you can do about it. It is either going to happen or not.
- Stop preparing for specific scenarios and focus on preps that address most of them. That is, if you are preparing for a hurricane strike, those same preps will help you deal with a dirty bomb or a short-term grid failure. If you are preparing for a currency collapse by getting gold, silver and copper, those same preps will help you deal with the post-SHTF barter economy.
- Realize that prepping is just not about the doomsday, but living a better life, regardless. Having preps makes me sleep better at night. I know that my household is resilient and can survive 90% of potensial scenarios. The other 5% I will improvise, adapt and overcome. The last 5% I am dead before I realize it and it does not matter anyway (if it is just me, my wife will have enough life insurance to make it without me).
Above all, don’t allow yourself to think 24/7 about the coming apocolypse! Take time to live life and savor the wonderful world that is out there, come hell or high water!
No one can predict what will happen with any accuracy, but you can get an idea of what may transpire and try to cover those bases. I think the overall system is so shaky and decrepit that when the inevitable black swan event occurs, the whole thing will implode.
Great post. As a longtime fan of TSP, I recognize the message, and agree 100%. I don’t comment as often as I should, but I really like your blog and pick up the RSS feed.
I agree that for some situations, all the preps in the world are going to be useless, and for the others, the same preps that could save your life, should be allowing you to enjoy a higher quality of life anyway.
Keep up the great posts!
Mark
Thanks Mark, I think this post was written by a contributing author, PrepperJim.…
I do listen to The Survival Podcast. Jack Spirko has a lot of great ideas and has significantly influenced me. I disagree with some of what he preaches, but not enough to make me stop listening.
As to predicting the next truly large-scale Black Swan-type disaster, it is not possible. If you want to know more why, look up Nassim Taleb and/or read The Black Swan. That is why I practice a more practical approach to preparedness and ignore the scenario-based. The more simplicity and redundancy you have in your preps, the more resilient you will be to Black Swan events. Another characteristic of a Black Swan is that it appears to be predictable after the fact. For instance, there are dozens of people predicting financial collapse and when it happens, they will come out of the wood work and be popular. This actually happened to Taleb as he specifically predicted the financial meltdown. However, he will be the first to tell you he only predicted it is general and with no specific time frame. He has predicted other things that have not yet come true. Only time will tell if he is correct that there will be a failed US Treasury auction and a spike in interest rates. I am betting on it, but it has not happened.
For this reason, prepping needs to build upon backups, redundancies, and flexibility. That is my philosophy. YMMV
My wife says the same thing about Beck.
Good message, and very timely (as everyone is freaking out over the debt ceiling). Your #1 piece of advice on the list cannot be overstated! When your morale is slipping (and heaven knows mine has been lately), taking a break from the information overload and doing something immediately constructive is really important for your state of mind. When my mind & mood get too gloomy, I clean out the fridge or pick up my drop spindle and make some beautiful yarn — anything that keeps my hands busy and produces an immediate tangible improvement.