The Importance of Having Prepper Friends
How 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
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 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
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.
