Prepper Planning vs. Preparation
Dr. John Woods 05.19.17
Planning and preparation: Preppers really can’t do one without the other.
Some believe they can plan without actually doing the real preparation. Others think they can do some kinds of preparations without going through the pains and trials of planning. Truly organized preppers and survivalists know that these two must go hand in hand to really be ready for a serious emergency.
Planning without preparation is kind of like laying out a vegetable garden but never turning the soil or planting the seeds. Sure, you could lay out the garden row by row, deciding where to plant what, and thinking about enjoying all those vegetables. But, if you never actually create the garden, nothing grows of it.
And what if you’ve succeeded in a few areas of preparation, but never quite brought it all together into a well-thought-out plan? Just having a cabinet full of canned goods or a backup solar panel on the roof will help, but these are just pieces to a bigger puzzle.
One way to look at it is that planning is the thinking, pondering, consideration, evaluation, and decision-making phase. The “what should be done” or the “what to do” blueprint for actions to take. Preparations are the actual carrying out of the plans.
It’s often said at hunting camps that you can’t kill a deer sitting on the couch. Oh sure, you can sit on the couch thinking about when to go hunting, where to go, which spot to hunt, and what to take along — but if you never go out the door, that venison steak is just a passing thought. Survival planning vs preparation is a lot like that scenario.
