I am NOT a "Doomsday Prepper"!

Last year when I read that National Geographic was looking for families to follow and document for their upcoming program “Doomsday Preppers” I was very anxious.  I couldn’t wait to see the kind of people that would volunteer for the show and maybe even learn something new.  Preparedness means so many different things to each person and you should never quit trying to learn as much as you can.  But what I really wanted to see was how the show was presented to the public.  While it seems that “preparedness” is becoming more mainstream and less taboo, there really hadn’t been anything like the show to date.  After watching the show and several people telling me “I thought of you when I saw it”, I’ve come to the conclusion; I am not a Doomsday Prepper! 

While I do believe the show does have many positive points, I cannot help but feel the producers are missing the main component of being prepared – LIFE.  The producers portray these families as crazy, nut jobs who live a completely different lifestyle than most Americans.  They seem to focus on the morbid aspect of preparedness and that those families who prepare spend every second of their day worrying about the death and destruction of a particular emergency scenario. In reality, living with a prepared mindset is not about death, it is the complete opposite. 

Being prepared is about having the peace of mind that you can take care of your family no matter what situation comes your way.  It’s about protecting what you have and knowing that you and you're family are safe. If an emergency does happen, because you prepared you won’t have to depend on anyone else.  Being prepared should be about focusing on the good things you have in life and trying to sustain and enhance those things no matter what happens.  

I am an extremely blessed man, with a great wife and wonderful children, and they are the main reason I prepare.  I want them to live the fullest lives possible and never want them to have worry about anything.  As any parent can tell you, the worst feeling in the world is seeing your child hurt or sick.  If an emergency does happen, being prepared gives me the peace of mind that I can provide for and protect them.  I never want to be in a position where I’m helpless or unable to do that.  I have faith in God to always protect me and my family, BUT that doesn’t mean I sit around and do nothing.  Remember the story about the man in the flood who was passive in his own survival:

A state trooper in a Jeep knocks on a man's door and tells him to evacuate due to a pending flood; the man says "God will save me." A few hours later the water is running through the man's first floor, and the coast guard pulls up to his second story window in a boat, but he sends them away, saying "God will save me." A little later, the man is on his roof, with floodwaters ravaging his house. A helicopter flies over and dangles a ladder, but the man waves it off. The man is swept away and drowns, and when he gets to heaven, he angrily confronts God with "why didn't you do anything to save me." God says "I didn't do anything? I sent a jeep, a boat and a helicopter."

Take a proactive role and make it your own personal responsibility to ensure you and your family are prepared in 2012.  Remember that being prepared doesn’t mean you’re focusing on “doomsday” or the negatives of emergencies, it means you’ve got your priorities straight and you’re doing everything you can to protect what matters most to you.  After an emergency is not the time to start thinking about these things, the time is now!

Be Prepared in 2012! So WHERE do you start?

That's where I come in!


Believe it or not, by reading blogs like this and just merely acknowledging the fact that you and your family need to be prepared, you’re already doing more than the vast majority of people out there. Most people believe everyday will be just like the last and nothing bad could ever happen to them. Once you realize the need for you and your family to be prepared, you have to take action. Whether you start out small or jump all in, you need to do something and right now too. Unlike missing a good deal on something and kicking yourself later for not getting it, if you’re not prepared when an emergency happens, the repercussions could be deadly for you or a loved one. After an emergency happens is not the time to start thinking about getting ready! Remember, it wasn’t raining when Noah started building the ark.

Being personally prepared is no longer a taboo topic only associated with “crazy people” or certain religious beliefs. It seems like everywhere you look, someone is talking about it and with good reason too. The world we live in is becoming more and more uncertain. Food and gas prices continue to rise along with just about everything else out there. Unfortunately you can’t turn on the news without hearing about another home invasion, natural disaster, or national security scare. Our countries economic concerns only seem to get worse and worse.  People are becoming more aware of these issues and worried.  Everyone wants to know that their family is safe.

There is so much information out there these days about emergency preparedness; you could spend years trying to learn everything. Living off the grid, having a years worth of food, planting a garden, buying gold, learning survival skills, perfecting water filtering techniques, having emergency backup power, stockpiling guns and ammunition, the list goes on and on. Unfortunately to the beginner this can extremely overwhelming. They acknowledge they have to do something but become so overwhelmed they don’t know where to start and end up doing nothing.

First Step- SET A GOAL. 
One of the most basic ways to start realizing where you and your family stand is to assess your current living situation and what your daily needs are. How long could your family survive at this very minute if you were stuck in your home with no access to food, water or medical supplies? Most people's answer to this question is a pretty scary.
Set a family goal! Whether you start with a gola of 2 weeks, 4 months or even a Year (be sure to set a realistic goal to start)  This goal has to become a priority for you and your family.  Start looking into food that will store and is on sale. You can slowly build your food storage stock with canned items or foods that will store by keeping an eye out for sales and coupons and picking up additional items when you do your regular grocery shopping. One of our most demanded services this past 6 months has been personalized emergency family planning consultations. We create a completely customized, simple to follow plan essentially a road map, for you and your family to reach your personal preparedness goals. The plans are not only customized for your personal needs but also your budget. With our experience and everyday practice, we have tons of money saving tips for any family to follow through with their plan.

We are looking forward to sharing tips to help you start or improve your families emergency plan.  Being able to help people have the confidence and piece of mind of personal prepardenss in 2012 is our Goal!

http://www.templarpreparednessconsulting.com/