(SurvivalDaily.com) – 2020 has been a wild ride, not necessarily the good kind either. A lot has happened in six months. Don’t fret though. We can all use 2020 as a learning experience — even hardened preppers. Whether it’s lockdowns, supply shortfalls, or civil unrest, 2020 has not ceased to amaze.
The good thing about the chaos however is we can learn from it, and use it to our advantage.
What 2020 Has Given Us
2020 has been full of surprises, none of which we would consider good. However, 2020 has been good for something: practice. That’s right practice, without it none of us would ever get better at anything. The more practice you have for prepping the better you’ll be at it, giving you a better chance at survival. Let’s recap what’s happened so far in 2020.
COVID/Lockdown
A pandemic certainly wasn’t in our sites for 2020. A measure taken to help deal with the pandemic was locking down the country. Didn’t really turn out to be very fun.
Supply Shortfall
When talk about a pandemic sweeping America first came about, Americans panicked. They panicked and bought toilet paper, food, water, and disinfectants. The sudden rush for these products left the suppliers buried and behind, unable to supply stores fast enough for consumers to buy. Essential items were scarce and often couldn’t be found.
Civil Unrest
After being locked in their homes Americans felt uneasy the way it was. However, on May 25th, George Floyd was killed by an officer. This sparked protests and some eventually became riots. It happened all over the country, leaving businesses and some homes in ashes.
Using 2020 to Your Advantage
It’s been crazy, there’s no doubt about that. What would be even crazier is if you didn’t use it as an opportunity to learn and improve. This year has provided us with a trial of actual events that we prep for. This is a scary reality, but that doesn’t mean it can be spun in your favor. There are ways to utilize a crisis:
- Reevaluate: 2020 has given us the chance to see what needs improvement in our preps, whether it be not enough food or possibly a more drastic approach like deciding to bug-out rather than hunker down or vice versa.
- Learn: 2020 has provided us with a great lesson. No matter how prepared someone thinks they are; there’s always room for improvement. 2020 surely would’ve brought that fact to light. Use the experience, learn from it, and apply it in the future.
- Practice: with the world in such a chaotic state, now is the perfect time to practice your skills. Do a dry run of bugging-in. Shut off the breaker and see how long you can last without power. Determine how long you can live without going to the store (just don’t run yourself out of supplies, who knows if a second lockdown is coming).
- Improve: take what you learned through your experience and evaluation, and use that knowledge to improve whatever needs it. Maybe it’s more food, maybe it’s more water, or maybe it’s simply better management of resources.
In Conclusion
You need to ask yourself how you handled these crises, how you learned from them, and how you can improve. Add to your stockpile if needed (doesn’t hurt to do anyway). Double-check everything. For those out there who are nervous, triple-checking is fine too. Just remember none of this does you any good if you don’t act on it. Practice makes perfect people, and even though you’ll likely never be a perfect prepper, any improvement increases your chance of survival.
~Copyright 2020, SurvivalDaily.com
