Tunnel vision during planning.

When talking about planning some folks get tunnel vision on just one issue. Sure, focusing on one issue could be due to having dealt with the issue in the past. Maybe having gone through a severe storm you now focus all your energy on preparing for the next one. Nothing wrong with this as a starting place. For most of us something happened and we started thinking about preparedness after the event occurred.  

Let's use this motivation to be prepared for one situation and turn the motivation into preparedness for as many situations as we can. Why? To give us the ability to have options when something unplanned for comes up. Maybe your motivation comes from being on a sinking boat. Now you spend what resources you have making sure your boat is ready for any emergency?

The most obvious one of these tunnel vision planning scenarios is.......... "Gun Heavy" planning. What is that? Well lots of fellas, some ladies, center their planning around the need for lots of ammo and weapons.........  

Get a pad of paper and something to write with, go on we'll wait........ yes you can just open up a blank document on your computer........ Let's make a list of things which could happen in our area. here is a sample one:

EVENT	WATER	FOOD	SHELTER	STAY	GO	OTHER
Earthquake
Fire
Tornado
Car issues
Lost job
Hurricane
EMP
Zombies

This list is just a list to give you an idea of what we are talking about. Remember we have to tailor all of our planning to our personal situation. Now let us take an item, say three days worth of food, and plug food into this chart to see what we can use it for. 

EVENT	WATER	FOOD	SHELTER	STAY	GO	OTHER
Earthquake		XXXX		XXXX
Fire		XXXX		XXXX
Tornado		XXXX		XXXX
Car issues
Lost job		XXXX		XXXX
Hurricane		XXXX		XXXX
EMP		XXXX		XXXX
Zombies		XXXX		XXXX

If the food we are talking about is just kept in the pantry or cupboards we can use it for a lot of issues. In this case the only item we can not use the food for is if we have car issues. Why? Odds are we will be away from the food when the car has issues. Yet maybe the money we do not spend on food, because we have some, allows us to use the money to fix the car? 

Now of course we are assuming in this part of the planning none of these situations have completely destroyed your home or apartment!!!! Losing everything is a different planning session!! 

When we are going to use our limited resources (money) to purchase emergency items or tools we need to pick up items which we can use in as many of these situations as possible. This is the difference between having tunnel vision on one scenario and giving yourself the tools to adapt to many situations. Take the humble tarp, you can buy a tarp because the tarp is on a list you picked up. Which said you have to have one for a Bug Out Bag. 

  

Later, when you open the tarp you realize you are not going to get much use out of it for anything other than shade for one person, maybe... But you were focused on the list and the list said TARP, ONE..... 

Instead we need to broaden our focus and think of multiple uses for items. Taking the time to buy a larger tarp with grommets, made of more durable material, allows you to use the tarp for basic shelter and maybe even covering that leak you have in the roof?

Now is a leaking roof an emergency we have put on the list and planned for? Nope!!! But we can improvise, adapt and overcome from the situation because in our prior planning we gave ourselves flexibility!!! Now let's take the tarp and throw it in our little chart......

EVENT	WATER	FOOD	SHELTER	STAY	GO	OTHER
Earthquake			XXXX * temporary shelter outside if people are scared to go in.	XXXX	XXX	XXX  * Let neighbors use
Fire			XXXX * cover part of a burned home to provide shelter	XXXX	XXX	XXX * same
Tornado			XXXX * same as the last two	XXX	XXX	XXX * same
Car issues
Lost job				XXX	XXX
Hurricane			XXXX same as the others	XXX	XXX	XXX * same
EMP			XXXX same as the others	XXXX	XXX	XXX * same
Zombies

Ok I got nothing for using a tarp during a Zombie attack????? Maybe someone out there who watches the Zombie shows can tell us? 

I am sure you are getting the idea here. Let's bring this back around to the number one tunnel vision issue I see with folks....... Ok if you think all you need is ammo and guns let's have a talk....... BUT WITH GUNS I CAN GET ALL THE OTHER THINGS I NEED!! 

Yeah, yeah I have heard this one before, two things......... 

First, if you are reading this I hope you are not the type of scumbag who would rob others during an emergency!! I would hope your planning does not focus around making victims of other people.

Second, if you do not broaden your vision and keep looking through the tunnel of guns and ammo you might have to turn into a scumbag to feed your family........ which is great if the whole world turns into a Mad Max movie but not so great if you have to face charges after the emergency is done! Such as in a Katrina type event. Sure you needed food for your family. Days later the authorities show up and notice you robbed your neighbors for food..... Let's see armed robbery is what five years in the state joint?

Why not take the money you were going to use to buy nine thousand more rounds for your rifle and buy some food to feed your family for a couple of days? Your family would do better if you did not have to go out and find food during an emergency. Plus they are going to be worried when you do not come home from your "food hunting trip"!!!! Why wouldn't I come back?   

  

Because you ran into him. He has spent more time training and preparing than you and when you showed up at his door......... well he also owns a shovel, lye and knows how to use them!!!!

This is getting long. What we are trying to get across to everyone here is, do not focus just on one thing. If you are planning for the Zombies to show up, also plan for retirement incase they don't! When you purchase equipment buy items you can use in multiple situations. If your skill set is narrow, broaden your skills. Do not go through life looking through a cardboard tube! 

Sit down, write your list and see what you can cover with what you got. You might be surprised how many scenarios you can cover with some thought put behind how you prepare!!! 

As Always,

Stay Safe!!

(p.s. go out and buy a good, large tarp, with grommets this week!)