Prepare: Are you really a survivor?

The news these days is pretty glum. Unemployment at ten percent. Jobs scarce, pay is down, and everyone is feeling the pinch. So, are you really a survivor?

Most people aren't.

Does this sound familiar?

"I lost my job. I want to do what I did before for the same money. I want my old job back. I want to go to work at the same place I used to work at. I want my old position back. It's not fair. I don't want anything to change."

Whoever says things like this is not a survivor. Sorry, it sounds heartless, but it is not meant to be.

Change the wording.

"There was a nuclear war/plague/zombie attack. Civilization broke down. I want my old life back. I want to go to work. I want to go to the mall. I want to watch TV again. I don't want to salvage old buildings for canned food and supplies. I don't want to work in the garden today. I don't want to stand guard tonight. It's cold outside. I don't like change. It's not fair. This is hard. I want things to be the way they were".

 Get it?

I have said before again and again. Survival situations come in small doses. Loss of job here. Foreclosure there. Economy collapses. Governement falls. War starts. Things go from bad to worse.

Sure, in the fictional world, the hero has a paid off retreat with full garden, off grid power and all the ammo he can eat, but in the real world, most of us are just getting by. And when the chips come down, too many whine rather than adapt. It's easier and society has trained us to be victims. Wait for a handout. Wait for the government to do something. Where's that check? Where are those government jobs? When do I get mine?

Sound heartless? It's not. It's reality. Survival is about adapting. Sometimes you overcome, but usually, you just get by.

So, are you really a survivor?