“How am I supposed to prep when my family member is in such bad health?”

I get asked this question a lot, actually. And I fully understand where it comes from. My dad, who lives with us, was recently diagnosed with dementia. So the question has arisen in my home: how do we prepare and account for Pop?

The news, however, is not quite so doom and gloom. In fact, every single age group has strengths when Crisis strikes. Some of these strengths are easily noticed while others are more like a diamond in the rough – they have to be searched for and found before being much use.

This post was designed so that when crisis strikes, you are able to know the strengths of every age group if SHTF. I realized recently that without any member, a well-functioning team is weaker. Our families, loved ones, and friends should work like a well-oiled machine when it comes to prepping.

So here are the strengths of every age group in a crisis.

Youth:

Stories abound about how frustrating Youth are in modern culture. Their music, tv, and attitudes are all crap nowadays. But in a crisis, youth have several unique strengths.

First of all, youth have the ability to do a disgustingly large amount of work. For example, I was out digging holes for my plants today and my back kept bothering me while I was digging. So I would dig a few holes, take a break, and go back to digging a few more. It was time consuming, tiring, and (worst of all) painful.

My son drives in from work and comes over to lend me a hand. In 15 minutes, he does as much work as I did in an hour. I could have just spit!

But this shows the incredible power that youth possess: their backs don’t burn, their knees don’t ache, and if they’re encouraged and loved the right way, they have an incredible work capacity.
Sometimes we’ve gotta be smart about how we speak to and encourage youth today, but when we do it in a firm yet loving way, showing them that we have their best intentions at heart, I’ve found that they tend to fall in line.

Another talent that youth have is that they possess an abundant amount of energy and when morale is down, there isn’t much that makes people happier than seeing hard working young folk.

When it comes to a crisis, youth are at once energetic enough to do hard work and energetic enough to remind those on our team what we are fighting for: love, happiness, and freedom.

Middle Aged Crowd:

I find myself in this category as I type. If you woke up this morning remembering how sweet 20 was but knowing that 60 or 70 will be even worse, you’re probably right there with me!

But my generation has unique strengths in a crisis, particularly the strengths of leadership and creativity.

Let’s face it: young people today are just not wired like we were. I don’t know if it’s the tablets and smartphones or the pitiful educational system in some places, but if I didn’t teach my boys how to hold a hammer, they’d have gone well into their teens and twenties without ever knowing how to drive a nail.

That’s pretty pitiful if you ask me.

Young people are creative online, but not in person. Their generation can make graphics online, but my generation has the unique strength in that we can see a physical problem and find a physical solution. We can help others see our vision and guide them onto the path of help.

When it comes to a crisis, no one is better suited to lead than those who are aging in body but young in heart and mind.

My generation is also capable of doing (some!) physical labor, though our backs, shoulders, and knees hate us for it. In my opinion, my generation has excellent social skills and can work hard to keep others in line and happy. Because the middle age crowd serves as a bridge between youth and elderly folks, we are the ideal leaders and strategists when everything turns to crisis mode.

And speaking of the elderly folks…

The Well-Experienced:

Those among us who have plenty of life experience make for incredible companions during a crisis. My father, though he has dementia and is a fraction of his former self, is a wise and bold man, not letting much get in his way.

He’s a manly man too!

Those among us who are widely versed in the ways of the world (like how I said that) have a set of strengths that other age groups simply can’t match: you bring the wisdom, love, and guidance of an entire life.

You have the experience that can only be gained with time.

There will never be a time when people need more wise and calming advice than during a crisis. When it all goes down, emotions will be rampant. People will be frustrated, hurt, and will feel alone. There will be such a need for those who have experienced those emotions beforehand to share their wisdom on how to last in difficult times.

If you or your loved ones fit into the well-aged crowd, I want you to understand something: those in the well-aged crowd know things that other people don’t. You can have deeply personal conversations with your team. You can bring stability, hope, and courage, reminding those that bad times have happened in the past and will happen again, but that good times are coming one day.

Those who are experienced at life also bring another unique skillset: for most of you, you grew up outside, in the real world! I can’t tell you how many times my father has given me gardening tips that sound crazy but work out better than I could ever imagine.

Dad knows what kind of foods you can eat in the wild, how to hunt, how to grow food, how to identify poisons, and who knows what else. If you are well-experienced in life, you bring a knowledge of the outdoors that the modern man or woman simply does not possess.

If you are in this crowd, do not lose hope. You bring a strength to a crisis that cannot be imitated.

Conclusion

Whatever your team composition is, whatever your family looks like, whoever you’re stuck with in a crisis, remember that every age group brings specific skills, abilities, and strengths.

Remember that not all skills are physical. In fact, sometimes the physical skills don’t get us very far if we aren’t supported by a belief in what we are doing or trying to accomplish.

No matter your age, if you are in a crisis, then you have something to contribute.

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This is a guest post from Prep Survival Guide Please click through to their site and browse a while.

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