There is a long list of skills that people can use to supplement their preps. So long, that if people look at it they can be overwhelmed thinking they have to learn it all.
This is where the phrase comes in ‘no man is an island.’
You can’t learn it all. If you tried, you’d end up being rather inept at most things because you wouldn’t have time to learn the finer details of any of them. There’s a reason people have always congregated in or around communities.
If they didn’t have a skill for something they needed, they knew one of their neighbors that did. The farmer down the road would trade crops with the rancher for meat and milk and eggs, while they both traded with the tailor for clothes, who traded with the cobbler for shoes, who depended on the mason for his house, who turned to the apothecary whenever he felt a cold coming on, etc.
Another way of looking at this issue goes along with the phrase ‘know your strengths.’ While people quote this all the time, they seem to focus on weaknesses instead.
They think of everything they can’t do, or how they feel pushed down by society and others instead of leaning into what they do best and building up everyone around them to operate in what they do best. A smart youtuber named Patara talks about this some on one of her videos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxRKQnazgx8
Even though she focuses on people trying to separate things out into gender roles, what she says is so much more than a mere battle of the sexes. Offer your strengths to others, and don’t begrudge them helping you with their strengths.
On the contrary, be grateful to them. Make sure to let others know how much you value them and what they do. This helps to form partnerships, which can expand into teams.
One of the best ways to get others to help you is to help them. Lend them your strengths as much as you want them to lend theirs to you. If you want to build a team, make sure you’re the kind of worker people will want to team with. Don’t worry about doing everything. Just focus on what you do best and do it for others.
Go down the long list of skills helpful to the prepping life. Think of what sounds good to you, what you can already do, what you’re interested in, then set aside that which doesn’t appeal.
Do you know how to put together clothes? Can you knit? Crochet? Spin yarn? Carpentry? Craft furniture? Keep cars running? Deliver babies, human or animal? Care for the sick or treat the injured? Can, dehydrate, or otherwise preserve food? Keep warm in the winter? Keep cool in the summer? Train dogs or other animals?
The list goes on and on. Pick one thing. Try it. Help a few others with it. If you end up not really liking it or find it doesn’t suit you, no loss. You’ve gained a bit of knowledge of the skill, and you gained the knowledge that you need outside help from others in that area. Stay on the lookout for someone you can rely on who can supply you, while you go try a different skill. Meanwhile, you’ve begun letting others know that they can turn to you when they need to team up.
If you like this line of thinking, learn more from other articles in my blog found at www.rebekaholsonventures.com. There you can also sign up for a newsletter that will let you know every time a new post comes out. As a special ‘thanks’ for signing up, you’ll receive a copy of my great-grandmother’s favorite cake recipe, which requires an ingredient most people throw out as waste. After all, reducing waste is one thing all preppers need to learn. Sign up today!