Have you ever looked at prepping tips through the eye of Sun Tzu and The Art of War? The wisdom of that book can apply to many different scenarios, including prepping. This post will discuss prepping tips that are a repeating theme in Sun Tzu's, The Art of War.

If you’ve been prepping for more than two minutes, you probably know that there are a lot of resources, especially books, available to help with our readiness and preparedness. Let me ask you, though, when it comes to books and preparedness, what do you think is the best guide out there?

Well, while it’s open for debate, I believe one of the best books to help with the prepping mindset is Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.

Why The Art of War Has the Best Prepping Tips

Now, if you haven’t heard of Sun Tzu and The Art of War, you have some reading to do. That’s because The Art of War is one of, if not the, oldest, surviving manuscripts on military strategy. Not only is it one of the oldest, but it is arguably the most influential book on warfare ever written. It is so useful that The Art of War is no longer just a book on war strategy but is also sold as a self-help book, an aid to prepping tips, used in business by corporate leaders, and is required reading across a variety of topics and courses.

The Art of War Prepping Tips Apply Across the Board

These lessons and others like them that are found in the Art of War not only apply to our prepping when things go wrong, but they also lay out an excellent roadmap for how we can approach difficult situations and our daily lives in general.

#1) Situational Awareness

“If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.” ~Sun Tzu

Prepare in advance

Train and do your research about whatever you're dealing with ahead of time. Remember, train to a standard, not to time or other artificial definition of success. When you do, you'll get to where you want to be much faster than if you hadn't.

Know and understand you and your enemy’s capabilities and limitations. When you know and understand yourself and the opposition, you'll be better prepared to overcome any obstacles.

Be honest when evaluating yourself and others. Honesty is the only real way to know if you're capable of something or not. Remember, you don't need to impress people. Just be excellent at what you do, honest and humble, and you'll be all set to go.

Stay Observant

As Westerners, we tend to be easily distracted and not pay attention as well as we should. Just think about distracted drivers, people on the phone walking into poles, and worse. We need to focus and pay attention.

While focusing is good, hyper-focus can be wrong. Don’t become hyper-focused. Hyper-focused can distract you from seeing the bigger picture or noticing small things that matter.

Utilize all of your senses, including your subconscious. We all know to use our sense of sight, hearing, and others, but many of us forget to use our instincts and minds-eye to help protect us. Instinct is perhaps the most essential and useful skill for us to master.

Listen to Your Instincts.

If something looks, feels, or seems wrong, it probably is. Avoid letting personal and cultural bias inhibit your instincts. Instinct doesn't know the culture and political correctness. So, don't let yourself become weighed down when responding to warnings from your instincts.

Talk your feelings or thoughts through with others. When you do, you'll help the feeling sink in that your instincts are probably right.

2) Be the Gray Man

“Be extremely subtle even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate.” ~Sun Tzu

Don’t stand out

Mentally commit NOT to stand out. If a person wants to stand out, they will.