5 Everyday Survival Skills Everyone Should Know

The question of “What would you take to a deserted island?” is fun to muse over. An obvious choice would be a book to take would be How To Survive On A Deserted Island. Although technically that might not be an actual thing, it would help to have some basic survivor skills. How many times have you seen contestants show up on Survivor without a clue of the basics like how to make a fire. There are even some contestants who show up wearing dresses and high heels. Here’s a tip: If you are picked for Survivor, and the show sends you a ticket to a remote island, then chances are the game is on: Dress appropriately. As for those of us who will never make it to a deserted island, there are still some everyday survival skills we should learn. How many of these skills are you proficient with?

Change A Tire

Most people have roadside assistance, but there is no 100% guarantee that the assistance will get to you promptly. Even if you do call, you should know where your spare is located and how to get it removed. BTW, you should also know how to jumpstart your car or anyone else’s car. This would also mean having those jumper cables handy.

Perform Basic First Aid/CPR

Did you know the recommendations of performing CPR on adults has changed? You no longer need to do the combo of pumping the chest and breathing into the mouth. All you need to do is the pumping part. This should make it extremely easy to learn. You should acquire other basic First Aid skills such as how to dress a wound and to treat a burn, which is probably what you’ll ever have to deal with. What you need to do is move away from the “old wives’ tales” (smearing butter on a burn) and stick with the professional advice.

Swim

You don’t have to become Michael Phelps but remember that 70% of the earth is covered in water. Chances are you’re going to wander past a pond or two. Would you be able to survive if you fell in? Would you be able to rescue someone who didn’t? Swimming is one of the easiest skills to learn. Get over to your nearest YMCA and take a class. Once you do, you’ll never want to come out of the water.

Parallel Park

Show of hands: Who messes this up every time? Remember how you had to practice this skill for your driver’s license test? Practice some more.

Follow Directions

This might seem like a no-brainer, but it’s amazing how many people don’t follow directions. That holds true for putting things together and going from point “A” to point “B.” Of course, your Smartphone’s GPS has removed the problems with mapping, and that’s a good thing. For everything else, take a moment to read those directions. The only exception is with cooking. In the kitchen, you’re allowed to go crazy.

 

RELATED ARTICLES