What does it mean to be a prepper? Someone asked this in a group on social media recently, and it really made me stop and think about what being prepared means to me.
Prepping is a mindset, first and foremost. It is the ability to think about the future and what kinds of things can happen. I can’t predict it all, nor do I have a crystal ball to look into for the answers. I can’t say I want that ability either. It would ruin the whole journey we call life, in my opinion.
There is a big fear of the unknown and the future in life. Instead of being afraid of everything that can go wrong, I try to simply be ready for it. To give myself a slight advantage. This doesn’t even mean the end of the world or global disasters either. It can be things that only affect me and my family, or even just the community I live in.
I think of it like an insurance policy in life. We all buy insurance for our medical needs, cars, homes, and even our life. Prepping is one more insurance policy in my life. But it is even better because I control it. I invest my time, money, and skills into that policy. That gives me the ability to pick, choose, and customize what works for my lifestyle and living situation. It can change and be adapted if my lifestyle and living situation change as well.
It is facing fears head on and asking myself how I would handle it. I’m a firm believer in facing things head on. Because once the potential elephant in the room has been addressed, the power it holds is gone. The fear is gone right along with it.
I see that kind of thing with bloggers. Many fear rejections when applying for affiliates or to work with a company. They’ll ask, what if they hate me? Or what if my site views aren’t good enough? Well, what will really happen in that scenario? Stop and think about the answer. I do the same thing with prepping. What happens when the power goes out? Will I be able to handle X number of days without power? How?
Once I have my answers, the question becomes, am I happy with that answer? If not, what can I do to change it? Or reach the point where I am happy with the answer. Prepping means the ability to evaluate things and where potential problems can occur. It is a problem solving technique for me.
Many people think that prepping is gloomy and depressing. But it is quite the opposite. I find freedom in knowing that I can handle things. My abilities are nowhere near perfect and I can’t predict everything. But the advantage of having the problem solving mindset and the ability to adapt by having multiple options is a big help! That removes the fear factor in things for me.
Prepping has made me much more organized as well! I’m sure many of you have read previous posts about my organizational skills or slight obsession with it. Prepping taught me that I thrive in organization. That is an important skill to have in being a prepper.
Prepping has taught me more than anything not to live my life in fear. It has made me resourceful and creative. Prepping has also made me more independent. I always hope that I’ll never have to use my preps or my skills in a true emergency situation. But I would much rather have it and not need it than not have it and desperately need it.
When I became a writer, I often wondered if people would enjoy my writing or see value in it. Or if they would all automatically assume I’m a conspiracy theorist running around with my tinfoil hat on too tight. Whenever someone comments that they had never thought about the things I talk about, it is all worthwhile to me. Helping people through being a prepper and writing about it is the most amazing thing. It is literally the best job ever to me.
Prepping means I am in control of my life and how I handle things. I can help a large number of people through it and my writing. The ability to not only help myself but help others along the way is huge to me. Prepping has made me a better and stronger person.
Life will never go according to my plans. I learned that a very long time ago. Which is just fine, because everything happens for a reason. Usually just not the way I plan for it to happen. But by being a prepper, I stress less about how things are happening because I am confident in my ability to overcome the obstacles thrown in front of me.
Are you a prepper? Tell me about what it means to you or why you would want to start prepping. It is a very individual journey and one size never fits all. Tell me about what being a prepper means to you in the comments.
I am a prepper too! We just experienced a blackout that lasted four days. I am glad I had loaded up on water and non perishable food.
I stumbled upon your blog while falling down a rabbit hole on the internet some time ago and found this topic to be fascinating. I like to think I am prepared in life for everyday situations but never really had given thought to a real tragic or doomsday scenario. You have definitely got me thinking as you always do.
When I think of prepping the first thing that comes to mind is hurricane. Every year at some point we are stocking up on EVERYTHING! However, if it weren’t for my brother we would not be prepared I’m afraid. My life is so hectic and chaotic that I can only seem to deal with what’s in front of me. I wish I could be more like you. Especially with all the dehydrated veggies and foods you have. You’re amazing when it come a to being prepared!
I have no clue how you handle everything you do daily with such grace, Alexandra! You amaze me constantly. I would literally go insane if I was in your shoes. So I can definitely understand how if it isn’t a present issue, you don’t even think about it. I am working on a post about hurricanes, because of you specifically. I was worried about you during the last one. With the freeze dried veggies and fruits, that may actually help you simplify your life a bit. I’ve been incorporating them into my daily meals and it saves a ton of time. Let’s talk about that!
No, I am not a prepper. I don’t even have the recommended amount of bottled water (I live in a one-bedroom apartment, there’s only room for so much. I do have a bunch of flashlights and lanterns, though). But! Reading your blog has made me much more conscious of the need to be prepared for something as basic as a blackout. Off I go to buy water tomorrow morning.
Space is something every prepper fights with, Lene! So I totally understand that. I always want more storage space in my house. Instead of stocking up on water, look at other ways to be prepared. Such as a water filter straw, or purification tablets. There are always other ways to be prepared when storage space is minimal.
I believe it’s always good to have a prepper approach to life. Noone knows what can happen in future. I too am a prepper in my own way.
I love how you’re prepared for everything. I must admit I didn’t know anything about prepping before visiting your site and I’m learning so much.
I am so glad you have learned from my blog, Kelly! You are exactly the kind of person that I started this for. I want to get people thinking about it and creating that insurance policy for themselves. It is always a learning process and there is so much information out there too.
I like prepping and preparing for the future but there are always so many unknowns that it’s important to find a balance between being prepared and going with the flow.
I completely agree with you, Norma! There is a huge line and balance in being prepared and going with the flow. The funny thing for me is that I have found prepping allows me to go with the flow more than what I did before I started prepping. I think too many preppers live in fear, and I’ve seen it many times. That is not a fun way to live life, by any stretch of the imagination.
I am not a prepper, I am actually not a big cooker too. But it goes for my husband he loves everything about it. I enjoy reading you because I often think how I’ll show him your blog
I’ve mentioned it before, and I will say it again, I have learned so much about prepping and preparedness since starting to read your blog. I love this post so much, because I think that sometimes Preppers are misunderstood because people don’t actually understand what prepping really is. Whenever I’m with friends or family and the subject of prepping comes up I ALWAYS refer to your blog to give people actual facts on what it means to be a prepper!
I have not been a prepper. I am one of those who save for the rainy day while living in the present. Your blog has always made me think and thus I have started to think about preparing myself for the unfortunate events. I lived in India for most of my life and there prepping up for natural or unnatural calamities is not really required. But here I think it is a must! I thus just follow you blindly when it comes to prepping up!
I am not a fan of prepping. I’ve never had to. Until now that I’m a mum and working. I only prep when I know it’s going to be a busy week.