Idealism v. Realism by John

​idealism  i·de·al·ism
/īˈdē(ə)ˌlizəm/
noun
noun: idealism
1. the practice of forming or pursuing ideals, especially unrealistically.
"the idealism of youth"
 
       Realism   re·al·ism
/ˈrē(ə)ˌlizəm/
noun
noun: realism
1. the attitude or practice of accepting a situation as it is and being prepared to deal with it

​accordingly.
"the summit was marked by a new mood of realism"
 
 
            I have been in the survivalist/prepper community for a looong time. Over a decade before the Y2K issue. There are several issues that I see arising repeatedly in the people I contact in the prepper community (even in myself at different times in my growth) are the concepts in the title. Often people have ideals and goals that they are not realistic about achieving or accomplishing. I see “preppers” buying guns and ammo every chance they get, but these same folks have less than a month's worth of food put away to sustain themselves after an event. The realistic understanding is that you will want to eat 2-3 times a day, but may NEVER need to defend yourself or your loved ones with a firearm.
 
            Many preppers I come in contact with have idealistic thoughts about what they are preparing for. I hear reasons for prepping like “I am preparing for the zombie Apocalypse, for a world WRoL (without rule of law), for a civil war, etc. etc. It is much more rare to hear someone discuss the realistic reasons they may have for preparing. Preparing for the potential loss of job or layoff, for the potential injury that may keep you out of work or have you home taking care of a spouse or child who has suffered an injury or setback. Knowing the difference between realism and idealism is important. Having realistic ideas and goals is important.
 
            The next part of this idea is the difference between Ambitions and Actions.
 
            Ambition   am·bi·tion
/amˈbiSH(ə)n/
noun
plural noun: ambitions

1. a strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work.

"her ambition was to become a model"
 
            Action   ac·tion
/ˈakSH(ə)n/
noun

1. the fact or process of doing something, typically to achieve an aim.

"he vowed to take tougher action against persistent offenders"
 
            We have to be realistic about turning our Ambitions into Actions. If you desire to prepare for emergency situations it is important that you be realistic about what you are preparing for and what you will need to do to meet that situation. Once that is established, how do we go about GETTING there, ACCOMPLISHING the goal? I see many people who have plenty of ideas and ambitions but put little to no effort into accomplishing those goals.  Balancing your ambitions with your actions is important.
 
            When it comes to preparing for any situation, it is important to balance your ambitions with the effort to have them become actions. Lots of folks want to prepare. Lots of people have grand ideas of what they are “going to do” and I routinely see a portion of those same folks that never get around to the “do” part.
 
            Be honest with yourself and others. Don't hamper yourself by over planning and under acting. If your ambitions seem to be viable, the only way to realize them is to ACT on them.