Why we don't prepare, Part One

You mean there’s two parts to this? Sorry, yes. While I have been preparing for the Great ShakeOut this year, it seems that I have run across two main reasons why people don’t prepare for what we all KNOW will eventually happen. This is what I found. Part I.
PROCRASTINATION. That’s it. One word, so simple. Yet, it belies something that really keeps many people from doing what they know they need to do. Like cleaning out your garage, or writing your will. It’s not that you can’t, you simply don’t.
According to an article in MedMD (1), it is not our perfectionism that keeps us from doing stuff. We all know that person who claims, “Well, if I can’t do it right, I don’t want to do it at all.” Actually, perfectionists typically will do stuff they don’t like to do because, as perfectionists, they tend to worry more about the things they haven’t done and they don’t like things piling up in their to-do lists. For the rest of us mere imperfect mortals, according to this article, it is possibly a lack of confidence. Do I really know HOW to do this? What if I screw up?
Self control and evaluation of our actions separate us from our animal cousins, says Psychology Today (2). We make decisions, contemplate them, then act accordingly. Or not, if you procrastinate. It’s not even bad time management that slows procrastinators to glacial speed (although with global warming I will soon need a new metaphor…). Brand new planners will stay brand new, untouched in their desk drawers. In fact, they are usually time wasters and actively look for distractions, such as email, the equivalent of repeatedly yelling “Squirrel” to the dogs in the movie “UP.”
Unfortunately, procrastinators often have problems with their health and relationships, which both suffer because they keep avoiding their immediate attention. Then they lie to themselves and blame their situation on others. It’s a vicious cycle.
There is a silver lining for procrastinators. They CAN change. It just takes a willingness on the part of the person to recognize this destructive behavior and correct it. It’s not overnight, however, and may require a trained professional to assist them. So, if you are a procrastinator, evaluate what you are doing. If you know one, gently get them some help.
We all need to be prepared for emergencies, and we simply can’t wait until tomorrow to do it. Please, for everyone’s sake, start now. Buy a gym bag for your car. It’s a start.
For more tips on getting ready for emergencies, use the simple step-by-step method at prepare.fullerton.edu/GSOMsgs.htm.
References:
(1) http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/20070201/why-procrastinate
(2) http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200507/why-we-procrastinate

Great ShakeOut a Winner!

I had originally planned to be gone the entire week after the Great ShakeOut.  Sure, I was exhausted from doing things WAY over the top for this event, but I really figured that we needed it to do it right.  I think the results prove me correct.

Yesterday I was gone as planned, playing in a golf tournament.  I play with the same bunch of ladies every year.  Every year, the day after the tournament, I swear that I will get those clubs out more often and sharpen my game.  Unfortunately for my teammates, the last time I played was, well, in last year’s tournament.  Thankfully for me, they are good sports and a lot of fun, so we laugh and have a good time even with those bad shots.  By some miracle this year, we actually placed first in our division.  My contributions were small, but apparently enough to win a $45 gift certificate at Trader Joe’s.  Which I would entirely use on milk chocolate covered peanuts if they carried them anymore.  Which they don’t.  They only carry dark chocolate covered peanuts, and I love dark chocolate, but some perfectly good flavors just don’t match.  Like these.

Today was to have been my first of a 4 day training on how to design exercises for emergency responses drills.  I think after last week’s affair, I could say that I hardly need such information now...  But I also know the minute you think you know it all is when you probably know not nearly enough.  So I went.  All the way to south county to a remote location to the Orange County Emergency Operations Center. 

It is not an easy place to get to, incidentally.  Well, at least not the first time.  The first time I tried to get there, I loaded the address into the GPS and away I went.  I drove along and saw my little dot approach the location marked on the map, but as I got close to the dot I saw nothing.  Just lovely, rolling hills filled with cacti and grass and trees.  Hmm... must be the wrong address, so I kept going.  I ignored the GPS’s “you have passed the location.  Make a U-turn as soon as it is possible.”  Ha!  Stupid GPS, it must be further ahead.  Twelve miles later I reluctantly made that U-turn and started back.  As I approached that dot again, it would again say, “Destination on the left,” at which time I would look left and see cacti and grass and trees.  This I did 3 times until I noticed a small road with an “Authorized Vehicles Only” sign.  Well, to make this really long story short, that was it.

So, today, I drove to this highly hidden place and got through the two security gates before ending up at the front desk.

“I’m here for the training.”

“Is that the CSTI one?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, sorry, that got cancelled.  Didn’t you get a phone call?”

“Why, yes, I did.  I just didn’t believe it.  You can never believe what you hear on the phone.  I decided that I needed to drive all the way out here to be told that this was cancelled in person...”

Sigh...  So I am back on campus this week and selecting the winners to the “I Am Prepared” contest.  What great entries!  Winners will be announced on the prepare.fullerton.edu website at noon, Wednesday, October 27.  Stay tuned!

Welcome!

I find it ironic and amusing that while I am ordinarily a pretty optimistic person, it has become my job to think of the worst case scenario every day I come to work.

So to make this a topic easier in which to get other people interested and honestly more fun for me, I have infused Emergency Preparedness with my own personality and have hopefully made it easier and more enjoyable to "be prepared."

Don't get me wrong. The road to preparing for disasters IS a serious one. But it doesn't hurt to laugh along the way.
Enjoy.