By the author of Be Ready for Anything and the online course Bloom Where You’re Planted
You’ve probably all heard that old success adage that warns, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” The guy credited with saying this was Jim Rohn, who is widely accepted as the world’s top business philosopher. But don’t overlook it, because it’s true of all facets of life, not just business. In fact, it’s why I suggest you have prepper friends.
How do our friends influence us?
No matter who you are, you’re still influenced by the people with whom you spend the most time. You tend to prioritize the things that are consistently mentioned and practiced, so if you get together with a few friends to do some canning or to work on a bug-out property, not only are you bonding, but you’re practicing important skills.
When your friends support prepping as a positive and reasonable activity, you’ll be a lot more likely to focus on it regularly. After all, it’s a lot of fun to share a great score of kerosene lamps at a yard sale with people who will actually join you in your excitement.
On the other hand, if your peers constantly denigrate or mock your preparedness efforts, it can be quite demotivating. Who wants to be the object of rolled eyes and deep sighs all the time? You may stick with your efforts in private, but being surrounded by folks like this can make what you’re doing feel far less important – or even ridiculous.
Motivation and encouragement can’t be overlooked as the impetus to help you become better prepared.
What if you don’t know any preppers?
The funny thing about prepper friends is that they’re not always “preppers.” While it can be awesome to find a group of people who share your interests completely, it isn’t always practical.
That doesn’t mean you can’t be surrounded by supportive peers. Look for folks who practice the skills we prize, like…
- Homesteading
- Gardening
- Herbalism
- Food preservation
- Wildcrafting
- Foraging
- Hiking
- Bushcraft
- Sewing
- Knitting
- Living history groups
- Soapmaking
- Beekeeping
- CERT or other community preparedness training
- Volunteer paramedic or firefighting
- Volunteer search and rescue
…You get the idea.
While they may not have a bug-out bag, you’ll probably have a lot more in common with these people than folks who live for the next episode of Rich Person “Reality” TV.
Some of my very favorite people to hang out with were folks I met in a homesteading group back when I lived in California. While we didn’t share all the same philosophies, our love of self-reliance and sharing of skills created a strong, lifelong bond.
Find prepper friends online
Barring real life friends, groups online can be a wonderful way to touch base with others who share your views. (Always be cautious about sharing too much personal information with anyone you meet online – heck, in person, too!)
Look for forums, busy comments sections on blogs, or (if you’re into social media) groups on Facebook or Google. (You can join my Facebook group Prep Club for Begginers by going here and answering the questions.) We have a lot of great discussions, monthly motivation challenges, and conversations about a variety of scenarios. It’s so much fun to share the stuff you canned or something you built with people who will be as excited as you are. What’s more, as a group, we can offer support and suggestions when you run into a stumbling block.
While online friends aren’t quite like in-person friends, if you’re feeling isolated, it can be a great way to find a supportive circle.
The importance of OPSEC
OPSEC is an acronym for OPerational SECurity, and the term was coined by American military forces during the Vietnam war. The basic idea is to protect small pieces of information that could be put together to form a bigger picture. With regard to prepping, it means that you never want others to know things like:
- How many supplies you have
- Where you keep your supplies
- What specific supplies you stash
- What your home defense strategies are
And in some cases, you won’t want them to know that you’re a prepper at all.
You get the idea. Don’t make yourself vulnerable, even to people you consider friends. Unless you have known someone a long time, been through crises with them, and fully trust them, there are some things you should keep to yourself.
Do you have prepper friends?
Of course, you’re always welcome to chat here in the comments section. I strongly encourage it!
Are your friends and family also involved with prepping? If not, have you made efforts to meet others who are into the preparedness lifestyle? Do you have some ideas how we can meet like-minded people? Please share you thoughts in the comments section below.
Good story, its true not to give away your info about what you have, I have a like minded friend who lives 2 miles away who also preps. But I have never seen his storehouse, and neither has he seem mine. I figure that if TSHTF, there will be plenty of time for that. I live approx 40 miles south of Cincinnati, way off the beaten path. I have been in the survival mode for over 5 years now, and plan to bug in .
would like to join your prepper group but I haven’t figured out how to do it without it showing up on my facebook page.
Hi, Dusty. You can adjust your settings so things like this don’t show (including pages you follow.)
Go to your profile.
Below your cover photo, hover over More and then select Manage Sections at the bottom.
Click to check or uncheck the sections you want to show or hide and then click Save.
On mine, I have it set where nearly all my sections are hidden.
It really is an essential to have a network of friends who are not only able to be of use during a SHTF situation where specific skills are required, but from a mental health perspective it’s a necessity as a lone wolf would eventually go insane if left alone for a long duration. What’s anyone else’s opinion on this?
I live in south central Pa and i’m looking for like minded people. If anybody knows anyone in that area please E-mail me. There is an old saying, “one is none, two are one, and three or more and you have yourself a family”.
I have a good circle of friends who are all “like minded”. We have established a group with varying skill sets and are actively “cross training” what we know. From grinding wheat, building techniques, water storage, first aid, etc. we all live in isolated areas, but are close enough to get to each other. This year our focus is to finish up our preps because we all fell that sense of urgency to get it done. Collectively we are always finding more to do as each one of us always comes up with more what if’s. Isolation breeds good OPSEC. So do neighbors who essentially want to all be left alone. I also feel a responsibility to teach what I know to those who are willing to learn: if the ask…