Three Powerful Choices for Storm Readiness
How well prepared are you for your next storm?
Why care? Because studies show that everyone will experience 6-8 traumatic events sooner or later.
Some people are better prepared than others. As I look back on two of the major storms I’ve in my life (the motorcycle accident in 2011 and Vicky’s death in 2020), I feel like I was prepared in some ways but caught off guard in others.
Your preparedness for life’s traumatic interruptions can make or break you. Robert Falcon Scott might have wished for a second chance to prepare for his storm.
Two People — Two Very Different Outcomes
In October 1911, two teams made final preparations for an attempt to be the first explorers to reach the South Pole. One team, led by Roald Amundsen, raced to victory and returned home safely.
The other team, led by Robert Falcon Scott, reached the South Pole thirty-four days later but died on the return trip.
The difference? PREPARATION.
Amundsen didn’t wait until he was in the storm to prepare for one. Scott, on the other hand, relied on what he knew and failed to prepare.
Three Essential Choices to Help Prepare You for Your Next Storm
1. Keep company with people you can learn from
Amundsen and his team lived with the Inuit and learned from them how to dress, live, and survive in freezing temperatures. He became an expert dog handler, ate raw dolphin, and became a skilled skier. He was teachable.
Robert Falcon Scott relied on the knowledge he already had and failed to learn from those who had lived in similar conditions. Instead of dogs, he chose ponies, which didn’t hold up in the cold. He took untested motor sledges, which broke down under the extreme conditions. He was arrogant.
I turned on a regular basis to the biographies of resilient people. A few who helped me be storm ready were Lincoln, Churchill, Mandela, and Viktor Frankl.
2. Stay positive but prepare for bad weather
Amundsen was optimistic that they would get to the south pole and back again, but he also prepared for the worst. He took more supplies than he needed and used black flags to carefully marked his route to the Pole in case of bad weather on the way back.
Scott, on the other hand, took just enough supplies and didn’t mark his return route. He acted overly optimist and miscalculated the possibility of bad weather.
We can be certain bad weather will come into our lives. Disease, accidents, aging, hurtful people — are all a reality on this earth. That doesn’t need to steal our joy but it is a reality check we need to pay attention to.
“There’s no harm in hoping for the best as long as you’re prepared for the worst.” -- Stephen King
When I was hit by a Cavalier in 2011 while riding my motorcycle, I believed trouble was possible. When I woke up two days later in ICU, I found my positivity eventually and chose to respond to my circumstances with perseverance, grit and perseverance.
3. Practice hardship before you have to
Amundsen trained himself so his mind ran his body. They learned to survive in freezing temperatures before they had to. These practice sessions, prepared them to endure the hardship that was possibly ahead.
Robert Falcon Scott did not train properly for his expedition. He took a cavalier attitude, was over confident and under practiced.
Neither a bull nor a noble-spirited man comes to be what he is all at once. He must undertake a hard winter training.
Stoic Philosopher Epictetus
When Vicky died in 2020, I was able to fall back on the routines I already had of habits like exercise, self-reflection, personal development, and time with empathetic friends. It didn’t lesson the pain from the storm but it gave me a foundation to stand on while I grieved and rebuilt my life.
Questions to Help You With Storm Readiness
Who are you spending time with that serves as a reproducible example on how you want to live?
What’s the indication that you have found a way to maintain a positive attitude while planning for bad weather?
What practices do you do regularly that will hold you in good stead when your next setback comes?
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