Today’s article was brought to you by the generous folks over at Hides.com. Go check out their great line of “Multifunction Eyewear Necessities”, and tell them FloridaHillbilly sent you!

Before the Cold War ended, I was in the U.S. Air Force was stationed at HQ Strategic Air Command, where I worked in a hardened underground facility on things that I can’t go into here. All I can say is that my duty assignment was part of critical mission planning.

While on that assignment, I’ve never seen so many top notch folks work so hard towards an end product. The pressure of knowing that failure on any one small part could mean the end of our country as we knew it at that time never really crossed my mind.

Every year we would go from the previous year’s plan to the current year’s plan. Afterward, there would be a large cutover party celebrating the fact that everything we all had worked so hard to complete, all the tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of man hours invested annually at making sure was absolutely perfect… had not been used.

I was in my early twenties at the time, and while I understood my small part in the procedures, it wasn’t until later in life that I realized what a fantastic personal life lesson I had learned there. Looking back, I understand that those great people I worked with never lost sight of our end goal- survival, no matter what. That annual cutover party was the one time we celebrated the reason for our efforts, happy that we had done everything we could to be ready…but didn’t have to use it.

“Prepping” needs to be like that. I often say “Prepare for the worst, but hope for the best”, and I try to live my life by that. Perpetually driving towards an unachievable point of total readiness is both insane, and a great way to burn out.

Every day cannot be spent worrying about the future. Yes, plan for mishaps and bad times. But don’t forget to enjoy life in the moment as well. Looking back on their deathbed, nobody ever says “I should have spent less time just living life.”

So here is what I propose to you:

Many times, having stuff DOES make life easier, however, take the time to appreciate what you have, no matter how much or how little.  Stuff is just stuff, great to have, but not the end of the world if you don’t. There are millions (billions?) of people that don’t own a generator/AR/BMW/<insert item name here>, but they manage to get by, right? Don’t worry about the “what”!

Appreciate where you are, you’ve been there long enough to have developed SOME roots, even if they are shallow. Every place on this planet that people live has a positive note about it, even south Florida.

Be thankful for who you have around you in your life. We prep for our families, so be sure to enjoy time with them as well. Also, if you’ve built some community, you have an emotional investment in them, and they have one in you. Appreciate that.

Celebrate how you got to this point in your life, both good and bad moments. They made you who you are. Learn from your mistakes…and your successes.

The “Why” is going to depend on you. Whatever the reason, cherish everything that gets you an inch closer to your goals. And if you don’t know “Why?”, you may want to rethink your efforts before moving forward in anything you do. If you have no reason for your efforts, you are wasting energy at best, or already a zombie simply going through the motions.

The “why” is what gives us hope, the thing I find to be the most powerful force in the universe.

Peace,
db

 As always, please “like” FloridaHillbilly on Facebook, subscribe to my feed,  follow me on Twitter, add it to Google+, Pinterest, Linkdn, Digg, and most importantly, tell your friends! The more folks you have around you that are ready for bad times, the less bad those times will be.