Your mind is your most important "prep". It can get you through bad times better than anything you could stockpile. I'm not even talking about the skills you can (and should) learn.

If your mindset is useful you're always in better shape than if it is harmful. It can be the difference between seeing a situation as an insurmountable disaster and seeing it as an opportunity for adventure and testing yourself.

What do I mean? Be adaptable. Embrace the discomfort. See the adventure. Don't be whiny. Don't obsess over the unfairness of it all.

Look at hardships as an adventure-- other people might even pay to experience in some small way what you are going through when you are facing a struggle. People pay to experience escape rooms, after all.

How many times have you enjoyed a movie about a struggle for survival? Disaster movies are popular, as are zombie movies and crazy murderer movies ("Friday the 13th", part what?).

When you find yourself in that situation you have the opportunity to not repeat the stupid mistakes you see on the screen-- the mistakes without which the movie would be over in 5 minutes. Murderer approaches in the parking garage, and instead of fumbling and dropping your keys in a panicked attempt to get in the car (which obviously won't start anyway), you face the potential murderer, draw your gun, and he either flees or dies. End credits roll (other than the legal consequences).

It's better than the alternative.

Being prepared is always better than not being prepared, and having a healthy attitude about events is always better than not.

Yeah, I know. It's easy to say; harder to live. "This is different!" Yes, it is. You don't really notice the problems you're completely at ease dealing with. The ones you notice are the ones that cause you the most trouble. If you can adjust your mindset, those will be less noticeable, too. It's something to think about.