9 Survival Skills You Can Learn Today
Morgan Rogue 09.29.21
I’m of the belief that you won’t be ‘surviving’ if you’re prepared. So by reading this article, you’ll be learning skills to help you thrive instead of just survive.
We can practice these skills in our everyday lives, on the weekends and whenever we have time. We can learn them by watching YouTube videos, going to classes and getting books. There are so many opportunities to learn, especially when we take a few minutes out of our day to make it happen and take action.
Don’t just survive, thrive!
Here are 9 survival skills you can learn today:
Fire making
Fire is an essential skill. Whether it’s making a fire for fun, warmth or cooking, fire is an essential part of life.
Learn how to make a fire with a light, by friction like with a bow drill or ferro rod. Learn to make a fire with natural materials, in addition to learn how to make your own fire starters. Test out multiple types of fire starters as well as multiple ways to make a fire.
You can make a fire 1000 times and it’ll be that 1001 time when everything goes wrong. The more you do it, the quicker you’ll be able to troubleshoot.
Hunting, fishing, foraging and growing
Food is kind of a big deal for our ultimate survival. Though we can go a while without food, our bodies and minds quickly start to deteriorate without it. Procuring food isn’t always easy, in fact it takes a lot of how work and dedication. Get a hunting rifle, get a bow, get a fishing rod and a book on wild edibles and begin learning how to procure food!
In addition, not all situations will be living alone in the wild, most of the time you’ll be right there at home. Learn how to grow food. Sprouts, microgreens and a full on garden will help you thrive in any situation.
Adapt
Even with the best laid plans, things can go wrong quickly. Having the ability to adapt and overcome is an essential skill to master.
One of the best ways we can master this is through our everyday life. How do you adapt to changes in your everyday life?
- What if the freeway is shut down? Do you know alternative routes?
- What if a client comes in and says to completely scrap a project and start over? Would you be able to adapt?
- What if you plan a trip to camp at a specific spot but see those spots taken? Could you adapt and move to a better spot?
- What if animals keep getting into your garden? Are there other ways to deter or keep them away?
I’ve discovered that we actually find much better, happier solutions when we learn to adapt to our ever changing lives. When it life ever one steady path? Get into the habit now of adapting and overcoming.
Cooking
Do you know how to cook? When I met my husband he knew how to make one dish. Even to this day he struggles with cooking, but has been trying and learning how to create meals from nothing.
If cooking teaches us anything it’s how to make meals from what we have available on hand. If you have pasta, a can of spam, some cream of mushroom soup and a can of vegetables, you could have yourself a yummy casserole right there!
Get some cookbooks and begin following recipes. Learning the absolute basics of cooking will help you figure out how to cook just about anything.
Fitness
This is a skill that I’m working on more and more each day. You don’t need to be a pro-athlete, but getting out for a walk every couple of days and getting your heart rate up is certainly helpful to our overall well-being. Taking care of yourself is a priority if you want to survive just about anything. Lift a gallon of water, do some yoga, jog in place, go for a hike once a week, whatever works best for you; get more movement into your life.
Basic first aid
First aid used to be my biggest weakness, but once I began learning, I was amazed at how engaged I was with first aid. I began to realize how important it is to know even the basic of information such a show to stop a bleed. I encourage you to take a Stop The Bleed course, in addition to getting some books, getting into some other first aid classes and generally learning all there is to know about first aid for adults, kids and pets.
Water purification
Making our water potable is essential. It’s not just about finding water in the wild, what about the water coming through your faucet? Does Flint ring a bell? Boil warnings have been an issue in many parts of the country and water isn’t drinkable in many parts of the world before it’s sanitized.
- Berkey
- Water purification tablets
- Bleach
- Reverse osmosis
- Distillation
- Water purification bottle, straw or other commercial product
- Filter and boil
Learn multiple different methods and when you would apply these methods.
Defense
Whether it’s defending your home from a hurricane or defending your campsite from invading ants, there’s multiple layers of defense. If you’re going hiking in bear country, you might consider bear spray or firearm. If you’re defending your home from intruders you might want some motion lights and motion cameras, in addition to other means of personal self-defense.
You get the idea. Walk your home and look for ways intruders might come in. Always keep your car door locked. Keep heightened situational awareness when you’re out and about, as well as at home. Be aware and a hard target.
Mindset
One of your greatest assets in everyday life as well as any type of emergency situation, is being able to control your thoughts, emotions and take control of the situation. Our mindset can make or break us. Add on some extreme stress and without consistent training, we may crumble under the pressure.
One of the ways that I train my mind everyday is with my kids. We learn to control our emotions, to take deep breaths when we’re feeling stressed, to focus on the tasks at hand and know how to forge positive pathways during times of stress.
If you work on creating a more positive, controlled mindset in your everyday life, it will be habit to do the same during a crisis.
The more skills you learn, the more empowered you’ll become to handle just about anything that comes your way. Learn the skills and learn how to thrive, instead of just survive.
