Excuses for Not Preparing

by Bill
(Texas)

It is our human nature to constantly assess risk, motivated by fear. Our fears are both irrational and rational. Because fear is an unpleasant emotion we try to relieve it by telling ourselves not to worry or be afraid. But, the better we are at assessing real risk and danger, the safer we will be. Fear is our intuitive assessment of risks we may choose to take.

We are making risk assessments all the time such as "Will my child hurt himself if I buy him a bicycle?"; "Is that too hot to pick up?"; "Is the road too icy to drive today?"

These principles are especially important in emergency and disaster preparedness. But we often make excuses not to get prepared, therefore relieving our fears.

Here are the excuses we use:

1. That could never happen here.

2. Even if it does happen here, it won't happen to me.

3. Even if it does happen to me, it won't be that bad.

4. Even if it is that bad, then I can get emergency supplies anytime.

5. Even if I can't get emergency supplies, then the government will save me.

Have you ever heard yourself making these same excuses? I have. These excuses can make you less safe.

People react differently to preparedness, depending on how close to home the disaster feels. The terrible tsunami in the Indian Ocean on Dec. 26, 2004 was a disaster of catastrophic proportions. Over 300,000 people were killed and millions became homeless. While there was a great outpouring of concern, very few people took the message to heart and got prepared. They walked themselves through the above excuses and decided they were safe.

But when Hurricane Katrina occurred with minor loss of life compared to the tsunami, all of sudden people in the U.S. wanted to get prepared. What changed? People reluctantly realized that those 5 excuses were false logic. This can happen here. It can happen to me. It will be that bad. I can?t buy emergency supplies after the disaster has struck and worst of all, no, the government cannot save me. This was an eye opening experience for the whole country.

That's why we must prepare and stop making excuses for not preparing.