Personal Inventory

Many people start the New Year with new year resolutions. I am going that as well, but I am also doing something else. I am taking a personal inventory of the skills and abilities I have, assessing things like my first aid kit (do I have what I need, does any of it need to be replaced), assessing my “survival plans” such as where would I go, etc. I am using this as a grand opportunity to assess as best as possible without ego what most needs to be modified or changed in my life. One of the areas I am aware that I need to focus on it First Aid and First Aid Equipment.

The first aid training and equipment has been brought up several times within the past 6 months. This is something that has been gnawing at me as as something I need to refresh. So the initial actions I will be taking is by investing my time in some free online courses. Stop the Bleed online Program ..available here and Emergency Trauma Response Training …available here .

Part of this was prompted by a podcast I listened to called the Concealed Carry Podcast. They made some compelling points. One of which if I am carrying a gun, what is my motivation. If my motivation is to save lives, how much more likely are you to be able to help someone else in a critical need situation with skills like CPR and First Aid, than just carrying a gun. In the podcast they touched on why do you carry a gun? If your motivation is to save our life and or others, wouldn’t first aid training and equipment be more likely to be needed and to be used that a gun? It may not have the “cool” factor. But is definitely part of the equation.

So I encourage all of you to inventory your life, your skills, your “preps”, etc and assess what needs to be changed and what needs to be bolstered.

In my blogs, I desire to demonstrate a multidimensional approach to self-defense. If I fell, and badly cut myself, would it be more useful to have a gun on my side, or a tourniquet. Wouldn’t be even better to have both?

So please use the time of renewed perspective along with your resolutions for the new year to also assess where your skills might be light. Yes the life saving skills are critically important. But we should not limited our life saving skills to just gun training, or martial arts training.

If we are better physical shape, our whole life seems to work better. If we are getting enough sleep, we are better functioning. If we train the skils we wish to make a part of us, they are more likely to be there when needed. Reading a book once on the martial arts does not make anyone a martial arts master. Nor does reading a book on fitness make you an instant body builder. Give yourself time to start the skills. Understand the need for the skills and give yourself permission not to be an expert immediately.

And if you are feeling really adventurous, examine skills to learn that might improve your economic environment.