[ This was contributed a number of years ago. There’s some great insight here with the notion for seven steps of survival ]
Visitor publish by a MSB reader:
Just a few many years in the past I took a sequence of wilderness survival programs by way of Sea-Grant and our area people faculties program. I reside in coastal Alaska and the lessons had been supposed to show survival in excessive stress wilderness and marine emergency conditions, cold-water survival, CPR, wilderness first support, survival pack, and quite a few others.
The one which appeared to have common that means to me was the Seven Steps of Survival. I discovered these steps to be far more wide-ranging than simply wilderness survival. I’ve utilized them to each facet of my life and taught them to my son and now my grandson.
I’ll share the seven steps and attempt to give some examples on their usefulness each in survival conditions and as a normal information to life and prepping. I may also attempt to relate the steps to the legislation of threes and another prepper themes:
Survival Step 1: RECOGNINTION
“Step one to surviving is recognition.” I’ve pounded that sentence into my and my son’s heads to the purpose it has change into intuition. In fact one can not take definitive motion to insure one’s survival till one acknowledges one is on this scenario. So easy however soooo missed.
The primary few seconds and minutes are important. It doesn’t matter if one is coping with a ship sinking in chilly water, a bear charging, investing in meals storage, shares, gold, bullets, SHTF, no motion to mitigate the risk can start till it’s acknowledged as a risk. (Don’t all of us have household and buddies who simply haven’t any recognition expertise?)
Recognition is the essence of scenario consciousness, the antidote to normalcy bias, within the woods we name it heads up.
Survival Step 2: INVENTORY
How huge are the waves? How removed from shore are we? Chilly water? The place is my survival bag, life vest? What’s in my pockets? Who’s with me? Are they in recognition, injured, can they swim, run, stroll, shoot? Some other boats round? Are they pleasant?
Stock needs to be utilized as broadly as potential. In a scenario of SHTF, in case you are away from residence, stock may imply your automobile, route, different routes, the situation of the grid, GHB, the place your loved ones is, what and the place is the risk. Mentally stock every part and its software to your scenario.
Survival Step 3: SHELTER
Maintain your physique warmth, maintain cool, maintain dry, discover cowl.
What’s the risk to your physique or who could be after you that you could be want to cover from? Consider the risk and insulate your self from it. I might say having a weapon and understanding the way to use it comes underneath shelter.
Cowl, concealment, physique armor, gasoline masks, pandemic safety, rubber gloves, a rubbish bag, any sort of safety falls underneath shelter.
Survival Step 4: SIGNALS
Communications radios, cell telephones, sign mirrors, flares, three fires on the seashore, but in addition in a crowd or darkish ally physique language.
Do I appear like a mark? When confronted by hazard, human or animal what indicators do I ship out? What indicators do I wish to ship and what indicators do I not wish to ship. Additionally, what indicators are current in my atmosphere, tire tracks, bear tracks, darkish clouds, an indignant mob?
Survival Step 5: WATER
[ Ken adds: As most of you know, WATER is VERY important for survival! There are tons of articles here on the blog about this topic. Here are a few MSB links to get you started… ]
>> WATER
>> WATER FILTERS
[ Read: Stainless Steel Canteen – Single Walled for Boiling Water ]
Survival Step 6: FOOD
[ Ken adds: Although not as immediately critical as Water, FOOD provides essential ENERGY during a survival situation! ]
Acquired emergency meals in your equipment?
[ Read: About the DATREX Food Bar ]
[ Read: About the CLIF Energy Food Bar ]
Survival Step 7: PLAY
Step 7 is so essential. In so many survival conditions the one that lives is the particular person with the precise mindset. In a chronic SHTF situation morale is make or break.
The Rule of Threes
[ Read: The Rule of 3’s ]
An extended cherished device of survival works carefully with the seven steps.
1, Acknowledge, “Oh crap.” You’ll be able to reside three seconds with out pondering.
2, Stock, “I can’t breath.” Three minutes with out air.
3, Shelter, Three hours with out shelter.
4, Indicators,
5, Water, Three days with out water.
6, Meals, Three weeks with out meals,
7, Play, Three months with out buddies.
It’s important to imprint the steps. Maintain them in your thoughts by way of a number of days and see how they apply to your each day actions. They’re a device supposed to be efficient underneath stress on a deep degree like muscle reminiscence. They’re supposed to be utilized as broadly as potential.
When issues get dicey recall the steps and begin adapting them to your actuality. They’re a roadmap for survival adaptable to almost each scenario.
The seven steps are among the many most interesting instruments in my psychological day by day carry bag.