BEING PREPARED
I imagine you have experienced the feeling when something goes wrong and you don't know what to do or you do know what to do but don't have the tools to do it. That feeling SUCKS. Being prepared is a really about avoiding that feeling and the following emotions of anxiety and fear.
Everyone has different needs to be "prepared". For some, that may mean being ready for a flood or power outages. Some may need specific items, like medications, while others need the basics, TP and Beer. But all preparedness requires the core items; things like water and food. I'm not going to rehash what others have already compiled, but I will give you a great list of links to reliable resources to help get you started. But before I do, let me give you a bit of advice to help you get started.
Getting Started
Let me just warn you, when you open these links, it may be overwhelming. There can be a lot of items on the lists. Understand that you do not need to acquire all of these things in a day. My advice is to start with one thing a time. Maybe set a goal of getting one or two items on the list a week. You are not likely to have an emergency this week or this month. By breaking this up, the effort is minimal but the rewards will pay off in the long run.
Next tip: When you go grocery shopping, just buy a couple of items extra that you already eat and tuck it away. A big mistake is people going out and buying tons of things like canned goods that they don't normally eat. If you don't eat canned potatoes, don't buy canned potatoes. Buy stuff you eat and buy comfort food. Maybe you are watching your figure and have cut back on canned raviolis. Snag a couple and when you are feeling stressed because the apocalypse has arrived, have a little bit of comfort food.
Where To Get Started
Red Cross Likely Natural Disaster Map
How to Build a Kit for Emergencies
I've also included a link the the first of my series that goes into more detail about becoming better prepared.