You don’t have to believe in a doomsday apocalypse to understand the importance of survival techniques. You can be minding your own business, enjoying another mind-numbing day at work, and any number of disasters can strike.

An active shooter, hurricane, tornado, earthquake or societal unrest can hit you right where you live, work and play, any day, at any time.

That means in the blink of an eye you must transform from comfortable, barely conscious, 21st century automaton to a “how do I survive this” mentality. This may or may not include a lack of government or police protection, a lawless environment, and possibly life-threatening scenarios when The S*^# Hits The Fan. The following 5 skills and abilities are crucial for your survival of a multitude of disasters.

1 – Diplomacy

Only about 5% to 10% of all the decent survival sites out there will mention diplomacy as a survival skill. However, if you can manage interpersonal relationships properly, you may not need any other skill set to survive a deadly disaster. Diplomacy can be defined as “the art of dealing with people in a sensitive and effective way.” Perfect this ability and your survival could be guaranteed.

2 – Navigation

Kids are not taught how to read a map in most schools. It may have been so long since you were taught how to navigate with a map and a compass that you have forgotten how as well. You need to know how to read GPSs, printed maps, online maps, and how to use a simple compass, skills required in many disaster scenarios.

3 – Self-Defense

The modern-day human does not have to worry about self-defense on a daily basis. Odds are you will live your entire life without having to protect yourself in a physical confrontation. Food and water are often the first things to disappear when disaster strikes. That means within just a couple of days, someone will be coming for your food and water supply. Each member of your family needs to understand basic self-defense tactics.

4 – Restraint Escape

When all hell breaks loose, your government, or random rogue individuals, may restrain you with duct tape, zip ties, rope or other objects. When there are no rules, every community is going to find out that they have at least 1 or 2 psychopaths who will enjoy this lawless environment. Spy Secrets that Can Save Your Life is just one of many online sources which shows you exactly how to escape restraints. (Written by former CIA operative Jason Hanson, and available at Amazon in digital and hardcover formats.) (Carrie, I assume you have an Amazon affiliate membership. If not, I would recommend getting one. Or, you can always simply remove the mention of this book.)

5 – Edible and Medicinal Plant Identification

You can use common plants to drop a fever, regulate healthy blood pressure, give an immediate and healthy energy boost or deliver a lot of other medicinal benefits. Some plants are poisonous, and need to be avoided. Amaranth, wild asparagus, cattails, dandelion, kelp and wood sorrel are all edible, so you should be able to identify and locate them in an emergency. There are numerous plant identification guides available online for immediate digital download.