What is a Survival Expert Anyways?

with Bryan Brawdy

What is a Survival Expert Anyways?

While many of us never want to imagine bad things happening, some of us actively wonder about worst case scenarios. We picture in our mind’s eye happenstance at its most horrible, and then use that same thought process to calculate how we can beat it, what we would need to do to come out on top of any scary scenario. So, bottom line, we are experts at pretending.

No Rambo, no super human strength, no wrestling alligators…Blah, blah, blah… We’re just good story tellers and we practice in advance simply because BESTing worst case scenarios begins with having an active imagination and a well thought-out plan. You don’t want to find yourself “neck deep in it will never happen to me” and wonder…”What now?”  

How about we pretend a little bit.

 Here are the three most common things I focus on.

Bug Out or “Evacuation”

Bug In or “Shelter in place”

Bug On or Mobile/vehicles emergencies. 

Admittedly, that’s a lot of thinking, but one thing makes imagining the entire survival spectrum a bit easier to manage.

Temperament is a huge part, that’s certainly true! When you have a well thought out plan, it keeps panic from seeping in, it keeps your brain’s Amygdala at bay. But after temperament comes the proper tools.

This is where a “crash kit,” a well-stocked Quake Kit comes in.

 Now the three steps I always use with any of my kits.

Familiarize.

Personalize. 

Actualize. 

Your kit arrives, open it up and dump it out on the table. If you have a family or loved ones, make sure they are in on the unwrapping and understand the contents and their application. Knee-deep in a survival situation is no time to second-guess your gear.

Then personalize your kit. It will be different if you have children, pets, elderly family members in need of medication, or if it’s just you. Tailor it to your personal and family needs.

Now it’s time to actualize. Try everything out. Learn how it works, put it to use around the house. What’s the old adage, Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance. Have some fun. Do some drills. Role-play with other family members.

One final thought. It’s OK to have a kit for each of the above scenarios. One you throw in your car, one in a closet at home. It’s OK if you decide that each family member should have a personalized one for themselves. GREAT plan!

Remember, Get a kit. Get familiar with it and Get on with your life.