Ron came in one morning, saying our German Shepherd mama didn’t have enough milk for her enormous litter of puppies. He discovered that goat’s milk could be used for puppies if a mother doesn’t have enough milk. He checked around, and before I knew it, Stella the goat had a new home in our barn. Within a year after selling the family dairy herd, we started milking a goat instead, which also provided milk for our three sons, who were high school athletes.

We learned that Goat milk tastes rank if it’s not cooled immediately, which is different from cow’s milk. We had a small blue ice pack in the freezer and discovered it does just the trick in a Tupperware bowl to quickly cool and remove the bad taste from goat milk. Ron’s resourceful mindset, obtained from milking cows his entire life and growing up on a farm, has often created short- and long-term solutions for our family.

But one doesn’t have to live on a farm to be resourceful. American culture has quickly forgotten how to employ this skill in our feel-good, instant-gratification, throw-away lifestyle. Most cultures worldwide readily employ it daily, as our forefathers did. Let’s learn some uncomplicated ways to incorporate the power of resourcefulness into 2024 life without buying a goat or cow.

What Resourcefulness Is

Resourceful people overcome challenging problems effectively and deal skillfully and promptly with new situations and difficulties. It’s a learned skill that’s essential in a culture where anxiety has overwhelmed us. Thirty percent of Americans report struggling with anxiety at some point in time. Past generations, by circumstances, had to figure out solutions to problems immediately for their livelihood. We, too, can learn new skills today to be resourceful in various areas, even if we don’t live on a farm. Problems and obstacles don’t go away. God created us as problem-solving creatures to deal with, adapt, and be problem-solvers in life.

How to Develop Resourcefulness

Develop a resilient mindset. Rather than believing you can’t do something, believe you can. Remind yourself you can do hard things. Think of how resilience in one area of your life can help a current situation.

Be curious. Ask questions about why something doesn’t work or what resources you have available to help the situation.

Don’t be afraid to try something, even if it doesn’t work out. The best way we learn is through experience and trial and error.

Be teachable. Ask yourself what you learned from an experience. That becomes a handbook for resourcefulness over your lifetime.

Don’t discount old ideas, things, or processes quickly. While technology is great, apply it in tandem with manual processes humans have used throughout time. Remember that pencils, paper, and your own two feet can get you many places.

Work with your hands. Our brains and bodies are wired for muscle memory and living in physical spaces. They are not designed for virtual reality and an online cyber world. Engaging the entire learning process using your five senses and your brain informs your whole body with knowledge and skills you don’t obtain through online work. A less anxious brain touches and feels with the body, directing and storing problem-solving memories and hormones in its memory bank.

Engage Resourcefulness Where You Live

You don’t have to be a homesteader or live on a farm to employ the power of resourcefulness. Solving each daily problem with the resources you have (which can include technology) builds the resilience and confidence you need when more difficult times arise.

As Franklin Roosevelt said, “When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on.”

What are your resourcefulness skills? Comment below!

For more on resourcefulness and other skills, mindsets, and behaviors that can simplify your life, pre-order Uncomplicated: Simple Secrets for a Compelling Life.