When it comes to prepping, one of the most frightening and difficult aspects can be our family members. In my particular situation, I have an elderly father who lives with us that has recently had a serious fall, injured himself, and been diagnosed with dementia.
So the question has arisen in my home: how do we prepare with Pop in such bad health?
The news, however, is not quite so doom and gloom. In fact, every single age group has strengths when crisis strikes. Some of these strengths are obvious (like the fact that youth are energetic) while others are hidden quite well (like the fact that youth can help others be encouraged in a crisis).
This post was designed so that when crisis strikes, you are able to look at your family, friends, and team and know how each member is able to bring a unique power to the group. Without even one member of your team, your team would be more subject to devastation in a crisis. So let’s look at what a few of these strengths are for each age group.
Youth: Youth are both the joy and the bane of modern culture. Their music isn’t as good, their tv shows aren’t as good, and Millennials are, as a group, frustrating to deal with.
But in a crisis, youth have several unique strengths.
First of all, youth have the ability to do work. A lot of work. I was out digging holes for my plants today and my back kept bothering me while I was digging. As a result, I would dig a few holes, take a break, and go back to digging a few more. It was time consuming, tiring, and (worst of all), painful.
My son drives in from work and comes over to lend me a hand. In 15 minutes, he does as much work as I did in an hour. I could have just spit!
But this shows the incredible power that youth possess: their backs don’t burn, their knees don’t ache, and if they’re encouraged and loved the right way, they have an incredible work capacity.
Youth also possess an abundant amount of energy and when morale is down, there isn’t much that makes people happier than seeing hard working young folk.
When it comes to a crisis, youth are at once energetic enough to do hard work and energetic enough to remind those on our team what we are fighting for: love, happiness, and freedom.
Middle Aged Crowd: I firmly and proudly place myself in this category. If you woke up this morning and remembered how good 20, 30, or even 40 felt, then remembered that it’s gonna get a whole lot worse, you’re probably here too!
But my generation has unique strengths in a crisis, particularly the strengths of leadership and creativity.
Let’s face it: young people today are just not wired like we were. I don’t know if it’s the tablets and smartphones or the pitiful educational system in some places, but if I didn’t teach my boys how to hold a hammer, they’d have gone well into their teens and twenties without ever knowing how to drive a nail.
Young people are creative online, but not in person. My generation has the unique strength that we can see a problem and find a physical solution. We can help others see our vision and guide them onto the path of help.
When it comes to a crisis, no one is better suited to lead than those who are aging in body but young in heart and mind.
My generation is also capable of doing (some!) physical labor. In my opinion, my generation has excellent social skills and can work hard to keep others in line and happy. Because the middle age crowd serves as a bridge between youth and elderly folks, we are the ideal leaders and strategists when SHTF.
Speaking of the elderly folks…
The Well-Experienced: Those among us who have plenty of life experience make for incredible companions during a crisis. My father, though he has dementia and is a fraction of his former self, is one of the most courageous and loving men I know.
He’s a manly man too!
Those among us who are widely versed in the ways of the world have a set of strengths that other age groups simply can’t match in any way, shape, form, or fashion: you bring the wisdom, love, and guidance of a life time.
There will never be a time when people need more sage advice than during a crisis. When SHTF, emotions will be high. People will be frustrated, hurt, and will feel alone. Never before has there been such a need for those of us who have experienced those emotions to share their wisdom.
If you or your loved ones fit into the well-aged crowd, know this: those in the well-aged crowd know things that I don’t. You can have deeply personal conversations with your team. You can bring stability, hope, and courage, reminding those that bad times have happened in the past and will happen again, but that good times are coming.
Those of us who are experienced at life also bring another unique skillset: for most of you, you grew up outside, in the real world! I can’t tell you how many times my father has given me gardening tips that sound crazy but work out better than I could ever imagine.
Dad knows what kind of foods you can eat in the wild, how to hunt, how to grow food, how to identify poisons, and who knows what else. If you are well-experienced in life, you bring a knowledge of the outdoors that the modern man or woman simply does not possess.
If you are in this crowd, do not lose hope. Effective survival teams do not happen without you.
Conclusion
Whatever your team composition is, whatever your family looks like, whoever you’re stuck with in a crisis, know that every age group brings specific skills, abilities, and strengths.
Do not forget to value the strengths that aren’t physical, as these strengths are often even more important. Wherever you fit in the age range, know that you are valuable and that the team is not as effective without you in it.
You have something to contribute.
Tony
