What if There is NO Plan B?

Realistically we always want to have a plan B for most circumstances we face, it’s been that way since we were a babies and mom carried around an extra pacifier in case we chucked one into a toilet somewhere by accident.  In the prepper community you’ll often read about backup plans, or “two is one and one is none.”  Yet what if there IS NO backup plan?  Have you ever considered that is it impossible to be completely prepared for everything and that sometimes you’re just going to be screwed?

Two is one and one is none is something I sort of subscribe to (and have written about) but am not 100% ALL-IN with respect to the rationale.  I don’t carry a backup gun, don’t carry a backup knife or flashlight on my person and don’t have a backup girlfriend on standby if my wife upsets me.  I mean this concept can be taken to the extreme and the ridiculousness of it all is sometimes amusing.  If you really think about what it would take to double or triple up everything you have just so you could be prepared, you’d be sacrificing speed and mobility and probably much more.  Kudos to the guy in the photog vest who has 2 or 3 of everything stashed in various pockets and holsters throughout his person.  Sometimes the cold hard reality of the situation is despite your best efforts all you have is ONE and when that ONE is gone you’d better be prepared to endure the situation in the best manner possible…quite possibly with NONE.

Have you ever been in a situation where you had NONE?  It truly does suck but you have to find a way to problem solve and get through it.  Things get lost or fail, plans go to crap and Murphy’s Law often gets applied.  At that point your best efforts to plan for A, B and C mean diddly-squat and there you are buck nekkid in the wilderness with nothing but an MRE spoon and a frown on your face.  Those who have the mindset to endure will figure out a way to survive, those who have a dependency mindset (read: I’m so well prepared that I’ll always have something with me) might not fare so well.

Here’s the deal, I believe that prior planning and mission analysis often make for an easy life.  I believe in having backup plans but also realize that in many instances this is not the reality that many of us could face.  This is also the dark truth that many other websites might not choose to write about because it freely admits that we all make mistakes and are vulnerable, even the best of us with the most experience.  The best weapon any of us has is between the ears.  Do what you can to physically prepare but resolve to be mentally tough, that’s where the true survival spirit is cultivated.