How Fluid Is Your Plan?
I have to apologize but the best way I can think of to start this article is with a quote from the Tenth Doctor: “People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it’s more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly….timey-wimey…stuff.”
What he’s basically saying is that reality isn’t always an A + B = C type of flow. The tiniest factors can influence things which makes outcomes rarely predictable. As a result, your life and plans should never follow an A + B = C type of response.
Let me change gears for a moment. This will all come back around, don’t worry. Just bear with me. I have a friend who has decided to become a “prepper”. He’s hoarding food and supplies and is building himself a bunker. He’s got a seed bank and all kinds of water purification devices and more. According to him, he’ll be ready for anything. So my first question to him was “what if you have to leave?” You see, his entire plan was based off of Disaster + Bunker = Safe. I pointed out to him that Mayport was a major target for nuclear attack. If some country decides to push a button, NE Florida would be lit up and the fallout would certainly reach to his place. His bunker wasn’t good for radiation and, although I’m not up to date on the effect of radiation on crops, I don’t know if I would trust eating food grown in conditions that required a radiation suit in order to harvest (if they’d even grow at all). Long story short: in all his planning he never once considered having to leave his fortress.
The same has to go for your defense plans. Is there more than one entrance to your house? What if you’re in your yard? What if they’re already in your house when you get home? What if your go to gun just doesn’t work?
As I said above, reality is wibbly wobbly. There is no possible way to come up with a single plan that can account specifically for every possible factor. The trick…and I’m not saying there is a trick but if there was it would be to try and come up with a master plan that is fluid in its execution. Try to figure out the most likely factors and then make sure it can adapt to unforeseen circumstances.
One of my big heroes, Alton Brown, had a philosophy when it came to kitchen goods: no unitaskers. If it can only be used for 1 single purpose, it had no business being in his kitchen. The only exception was a fire extinguisher, mind you. A similar philosophy would be a good start when it comes to survival supplies as well as defense. For example, shotguns are good for home defense as well as hunting and the same goes for certain semi-auto rifles. Storing all your guns in your bedroom may be convenient but it’s also an “eggs in one basket”. Storing guns all around your house in strategic locations, via small safes, is a tactically better option.
The same can go for concealed carry/personal defense options…kind of. Not so much versatility in the items themselves but in your EDC in general. Carrying a pistol is all well and good but do you really want that to be your only option? What if the threat is bad but in that grey area between “bad situation” and “my life was in danger”? Recent events have shown that things can get muddied very quickly. Carrying something as simple as pepper spray along with your pistol doubles your defense options and can potentially save you legal troubles after the fact.
One of the best things you can do is to test your plans. I’m not saying pay someone to break into your house or set fire to your neighborhood. I mean try to find holes in it. Don’t assume that “so and so will never happen”. Don’t rule out odd options either like “what if they’re dressed head to toe in super advanced bullet proof armor?” If you find a hole in your plan, look to see how things can be adapted to fill that hole.
In the end, it’s survival of the fittest out there. That doesn’t always mean those who can bench press a Volkswagen and run 30 mile marathons. Mental fitness, creativity and the ability to adapt are, by far, the most valuable assets you can have.
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