The title of this article may seem confusing. Why would anyone get killed reacting to a threat? Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?
No, it’s not. They key word is ‘merely’… merely reacting is what most people do. Reacting without preparation can and probably will get you killed.
If you were bugging out in the wild and a bear spotted you, running away would be reacting. The bad news is that the bear makes Usain Bolt look like a sloth. It will outrun you and tear you apart in minutes.
Reacting with preparation, however, will mean that you have a bear spray ready with you to give you that edge. You’ll know that you can’t outrun the bear. Studies have shown that the bear spray when deployed 1.5 to 4 meters away at a charging bear has been able to stop the bear in 92% of the cases.
While the bear spray will not kill the bear, it will cause the bear so much discomfort that it runs off and spares your life. You can run off now and hide behind a tree and peep at the bear ambling away while it gives you dirty looks.
This is the difference between being proactive and reactive.
You must do your research and spend time planning out how you’ll behave in certain likely situations. If someone is about to break into your house, do you have a shotgun ready?
A shotgun is great because the ratcheting sound a shotgun makes when it’s being racked is enough to send most wannabe criminals running for the hills. If you know how a shotgun works, you’ll understand that even in the dark, just pointing it in the direction of the threat and firing can do a lot of damage because of the spray.
You wouldn’t know this if you weren’t prepared for such a threat. If two criminals are about to break into your house and you’re a lady, all alone with your two children and not prepared, you’ll probably react by trying to call the police or taking refuge in a room and locking the door.
This reacting with no preparation will either lead to your house being ransacked or you get injured or killed before the police even arrives. Hiding under your bed is NOT an option when the threat is at your doorstep.
A prepper does NOT react. They’re ready. They’re rehearsed and waiting. A smart prepper will know that the bear spray will work on the human housebreakers too.
Panic grips most people when faced with a dangerous situation. This happens even if you’re prepared and it’s normal. You’ll experience an adrenalin dump and have tunnel vision.
The difference between one who reacts and one who proactively takes actions is that the proactive one is following a set of actions he or she has rehearsed over and over. They’re working logically even when the situation is highly dangerous. This logic keeps them safe when well-executed. They’ll have less panic and know what they’re doing.
Your goal as a prepper is to be rehearsed and ready. Survival is NOT pretty. You can come under attack from animals and humans alike. Animals may want to eat you and humans may want to kill you.
It may seem harsh, but that’s why they call it survival. That’s just how it is. Be ready.
“Never depend on those luck moments – they are gifts – but instead always build your own back-up plan.” – Bear Grylls, Mud, Sweat and Tears