Prepper Focus: Getting the Important Things Done

Preppers know that in order to be prepared for what is coming, they needed to be focused. Having the proper prepper focus is hard because there are so many distractions out there. Right now, you could be distracted by COVID-19, the 2020 Presidential Election, hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, forest fires in California, stories of supply disruption, Grand Solar Minimum, Chinese this, Russian that, many things that you have no control of. Instead, prepper’s need to focus on what they can control.

The Proper Focus Applies to Many Things

In my weekly devotional, I have been looking at the Prophet Elisha. Recently, in The Prepared Life – A High Calling, I shared how Elisha took his calling to follow Elijah very seriously and left everything behind, just like it is hard for preppers to “unsee” the need for preparedness.

Preppers live the prepared life because they see how fragile our world is. It’s a calling to know this and not just live in fear, but choose to do something about it. 

The Prepared Life – A High Calling

As we continue with Elisha’s story, we quickly get to the point where Elijah is about to leave and Elisha will take over the prophetic ministry. As this is getting ready to go down, Elisha stays focused on what is about to happen, even though there are many distractions.

And it came about when the Lord was about to take up Elijah by a whirlwind to heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here please, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. Then the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?” And he said, “Yes, I know; be still.”

2 Kings 2:1-3 NASB

Even Doom and Gloom Prophets Need to Focus

This scene plays out two more times. Elijah tries to leave Elisha behind two more times, and the prophets tell Elisha that Elijah will be taken from him two more times. All of this news and information could have been overwhelming to Elisha. He could have become distracted, depressed and confused. But he pressed on and stayed focused on Elijah.

As a result, Elisha was right by Elijah’s side when the chariots of Heaven came to pick him up.

As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven. Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

2 Kings 2:11-12 NASB

Elisha’s focus paid off. He was there to see Elijah taken to Heaven and he received Elijah’s mantel as it fell from Elijah. Elisha immediately assumed the role of prophet and started being used by God.

Like Elisha, when we stay focused, we can be successful in our preparedness. After-all, we are preparing to be responsible, take care of our loved ones and ultimately save lives. Having a prepper focus is truly a righteous work!

So how can a prepper stay focused and make sure that the things that matter get done? Here are three ways prepper focus will help you get the important things done.

Without a Plan, You Plan to Fail

Have you ever gone to the grocery store without a grocery list? I don’t know about you, but when I do it, it takes me twice as long as I try to remember everything I need to pick-up. If I don’t have a list, I sometimes pull to the side of the aisle and just sit there trying to go through everything in my head. Or, I might call my wife 2-3 times making sure I didn’t forget anything. I know you’ve done it too!

But when I have a list, I blast through the store. It is even more helpful when I arrange my list in the order the items are in the store. I can make one trip through the store, get everything I need on each aisle I need to go down, skip the aisles I don’t need to travel down and checkout. During this whole COVID thing, I have turned my grocery shopping into an art form!

The same holds true for preparedness when you have a plan. In The Prepper Letters: Making a Plan So You’re Not Overwhelmed!, a fictional account between Aunt Sally and Julie, I wrote, “Here’s what you need to do. Don’t go out and buy a bunch of “stuff.” That would be a bad move. What you need to do is make a plan. You need a plan that is specific for you and Scott, one that fits your needs. This plan will shift from time to time, depending on your needs, but it is good to come from a point of “knowing what you need” vs “guessing what you need.”’

Although that was written a while back, the advice holds true today! Without a plan, you will make some bad decisions. You will spend money on things you don’t need. You will be frustrated and in the long wrong, not be as prepared as you could be. To have the proper prepper focus, you need a plan!

The “Right” Knowledge is Power

Another way that you can acquire the proper prepper focus is to acquire the right knowledge! This is important because there is so much information out there, that someone can get sucked up into reading, listening and watching preparedness information 24 hours a day, but never really doing anything to improve their situation.

The best way to not get sucked into the internet blackhole is to set a time for learning. Instead of spending countless hours on the internet every evening, set a timer for one hour and don’t go over that time. If you couple your learning time with your plan, you can really put that prepper focus to work!

You can also use time that you might not consider “available” as time to learn. For example, I listen to podcasts and audible books when I am cooking breakfast and getting lunches ready in the morning. I also use my phone to “learn” when I’m in my truck driving. I cover a bunch of other ways to learn in my article, “Ways Preppers Learn and Acquire Knowledge and Some Recommendations.“

Being Consistent Compounds Your Efforts

Lastly, your prepper focus will help you stay consistent and stay on-track You don’t want all the shiny lights of preparedness to pull you in the wrong direction! And this one is hard, believe me. With all the information out there, it is easy to get caught up in the belief that you have to do a million and one things to get prepared. But you know that if you try to do too many things, you don’t do anything well. You don’t want this to be the case with something as important as preparedness.

Think about it like compound interest. In The Power of the Prepper Compound and the Curse of Doomsday Preppers!, I quoted Chris Martenson’s Crash Course Chapter 4 to help illustrate what happens when water “compounds” or consistently comes into Fenway Park every minute starting at 12 noon.

“Suppose I had a magic eye dropper and I placed a single drop of water in the middle of your left hand. The magic part is that this drop of water is going to double in size every minute.

At first, nothing seems to be happening, but by the end of a minute, that tiny drop is now the size of two tiny drops.

After another minute, you now have a little pool of water that is slightly smaller in diameter than a dime sitting in your hand.

After six minutes, you have a blob of water that would fill a thimble.

Now suppose we take our magic eye dropper to Fenway Park, and, right at 12:00 p.m. in the afternoon, we place a magic drop way down there on the pitcher’s mound.

To make this really interesting, suppose that the park is watertight and that you are handcuffed to one of the very highest bleacher seats.

My question to you is, “How long do you have to escape from the handcuffs?” When would it be completely filled? In days? Weeks? Months? Years? How long would that take?

I’ll give you a few seconds to think about it.

The answer is, you have until 12:49 on that same day to figure out how you are going to get out of those handcuffs. In less than 50 minutes, our modest little drop of water has managed to completely fill Fenway Park.

Now let me ask you this – at what time of the day would Fenway Park still be 93% empty space, and how many of you would realize the severity of your predicament?

Any guesses? The answer is 12:45. If you were squirming in your bleacher seat waiting for help to arrive, by the time the field is covered with less than 5 feet of water, you would now have less than 4 minutes left to get free.

And that, right there, illustrates one of the key features of compound growth…the one thing I want you take away from all this. With exponential functions, the action really only heats up in the last few moments.” 

Source

Implications of Compounding or Being Consistent

The implications of being consistent in your preparedness is powerful! Imagine being consistent with your food or water storage. Or imagine being consistent in paying down debt or saving money. Imagine being consistent to learn about preparedness an hour a day or exercise everyday! A little effort everyday will greatly increase your abilities, storage and knowledge. You just have to have the prepper focus to stay consistent!

Now, imagine if you started this a year ago, five years ago or even ten years ago. Where would you be today? But don’t look back with regret! Look forward to the possibilities if you start today!

Prepper Focus for the Blessing!

When you take the time to stay focused by planning, acquiring knowledge and staying consistent, you will make great strides in your preparedness. Like Elisha, your focus will pay-off and like Elisha, your work will greatly bless others! What part of the prepper focus speaks to you? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Peace,
Todd

If you would like to watch the devotional that this article is based on, see the video below.