Free When All Hell Breaks Loose by Cody Lundin Page A

Stick to the known facts by separating the real from the imagined.
    Adapt to your surroundings . Prepare yourself to think and act instinctively, like an animal, without judgment over your actions. In a sense, if you can't beat fear, join it. Formulate plans B, C, and D before they're needed but don't become attached to any of them.
    Discipline yourself to think positively . Even when talking to yourself, strive to use positive "I AM" statements, such as, "I AM going to make it out of here with my family" and "I AM going to be rescued."
    Adopt a positive survival attitude . Keep things in perspective and focus your attention firmly upon the goal of keeping you and your family alive and safe until rescued.
    Ask for help . Whether you're currently walking upon a spiritual path or not, it's never too late to start.
    Use humor . Kind humor transforms crummy attitudes.
    Remember your survival priorities . If you need to get out of dodge to avoid the full brunt of a disaster, do so. No possession is worth more than your life or the lives of those you love.
    Controlling Fear in Others
     
Be a positive example . Maintain a calm presence and keep control, even if you feel out of control; inspire courage, hope, faith, and the willingness to keep trying. This is especially important around kids.
    Maintain discipline . Work toward finding and maintaining order and harmony within your family and throughout your neighborhood in a gentle yet firm manner. Search out people's strengths and assign them focused tasks to assist the group. Giving people things to do lessens feelings of helplessness and takes their mind away from the current situation, while giving them a sense of control regarding their destiny.
    Exercise positive leadership . Be firm, determined, confident, compassionate, decisive, honest, and humorous.
    Stay alert for early signs of fear in others and, when recognized, deal with them immediately . Knowing how the people in your family react to and deal with stress is priceless. Be intuitive to the needs of others and offer whatever support you can. Remember that one rotten apple can spoil the bunch.
    Cultivate teamwork and mutual support early on . Perhaps no other experience on Earth will require such a tightly knit and supportive family for success than the survival situation. The group that initiates and maintains a positive mental and emotional outlook, putting all of its efforts and concerns into the welfare of the entire tribe, is an extremely powerful force for staying alive.

The Art of CREATIVE COOPERATION and PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY: Daring to Think for Yourself with an Open Heart
     
al-tru-ism [al' troo iz' m] n . unselfish concern for the welfare of others
    —Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
     
    R ecent natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina in the United States, have proven how far we have to go in the realm of emergency planning, cooperation, and, most importantly, taking personal responsibility for our own welfare. Local, state, and federal agencies couldn't seem to pass the buck quickly enough for the initial embarrassing, inept response to the hurricane. As people lay dead and dying, some of my finer countrymen and women were busy arguing about who should have done what. People in the midst of the devastation were quick to hand out blame as well, as if taking personal responsibility for their welfare were an alien concept. It was painful to witness.

    Over the years, Americans in particular have been all too willing to squander their hard-earned independence and freedom for the illusion of feeling safe under someone else's authority. The concept of self-sufficiency has been undermined in value over a scant few generations. The vast majority of the population seems to look down their noses upon self-reliance as some quaint dusty relic, entertained only by the hyperparanoid or those hopelessly incapable of fitting into mainstream society.
    Many people demand outright that someone else think for