"You will never feel ready because ready is not a feeling.
It is a decision!  Getting Ready is a Process"

You have done all the prep, crushed the standards to get TO and THROUGH the future training, but you still have doubts. Guess what? This is natural. How will I know I am ready? Will I ever feel ready? No, but you will decide you are ready! 

In a world where candidates wait to "feel confident" or "feel prepared" before committing 100% to the process, this quote shifts the responsibility from emotion to will and a no-grey-area decision. This quote I heard recently hits perfectly:

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 "You will never “feel” ready because ready is not a feeling. It is a decision". Mentally and physically preparing for Special Ops (or any challenging goal) takes time to eliminate weaknesses, develop strengths, and build confidence.

Deal of the Week:  Free Tactical Fitness Course with $50 purchase

See the TF Course to Get 80 Minutes of Training to Get TO / THROUGH Selection

Reframe the Definition of "Ready"

Candidates often wait for a sense of confidence or optimal physical recovery before they feel "ready" for a brutal evolution (like Hell Week or a long ruck). You must learn that true readiness is an active choice, not an emotional state.

• Being Ready: If you wait until you feel ready, you may never pull the trigger and start your journey. If you can assess yourself and not guess based on your progress, you won’t quit when things get cold, dark, and painful, because those feelings will disappear.
  
  
• Getting Ready: Getting ready requires time, following a system, and trusting the process. This means assessing your abilities, defining your strengths and weaknesses, and focusing on improving and maintaining them accordingly. These should be specific to both getting accepted into your choice of programs and doing the preparation to graduate from that program and reach your goal.
  
  Disconnect Feelings from Actions

Special Ops Selection tests a candidate's ability to perform at a high level when every inner voice and emotion is telling you to stop. You need to know why you started this in the first place because when your will is tested, your inner voice will be the loudest. This self-talk needs to be positive and focused. These are also decisions – not emotions.

• Application: Use this quote during training transitions. When you are exhausted and a new task is announced, don't give yourself time to mentally process your fatigue. Remind yourself and decide to say out loud, “Don’t listen to yourself; talk to yourself.”
  
  
• Stay Focused: Focus on winning, not just surviving each day. “You will never think about quitting when you think about winning!”
  
  Spec Ops Candidate Putting in the TIme/Miles on Soft Sand
  
  

Move from Passive to Active Mindset

Feelings are passive; they happen to you. When you are passive, you listen to yourself the wrong way. Decisions are active, and you dictate them. When you are active, you are talking to yourself intentionally with positive self-talk to get through tough times. 

If you are not intentional with your self-talk and internal dialogue, you develop “ideas” based on your feelings of survival. Things like, “Why are you doing this to yourself?” or “This is too much work.”

However, when you have an answer ready to go when these thoughts become intrusive, you can refocus and stay active with more specific self-talk about the situation. When those thoughts enter the chat, you have the answer ready to go with, “This is the cost of my success.” Or “Many who are doing what I want to do went through this exact event.” “This is part of the gateway to the goal.”

One of my favorites:  "You will never think about quitting when you think about winning."

Stew Smith can help you tailor this for your specific goals:

• What specific branch or selection pipeline are you preparing for? We have programs for all special ops professions, military branches, and police/fire as well at StewSmithFitness.com (e.g., SEALs, SWCC, EOD/Diver, Army SF, Army Ranger, AFSW, USMC, Recon, MARSOC)
  
• Where are you currently struggling the most? (Run/Ruck/Swim pacing endurance, mental resilience, or strength/durability?)
  
  
• Develop all of the elements of tactical fitness needed with the Seasonal Tactical Fitness Periodization process: 
  Seasonal Tactical Fitness Periodization - A 25 Year proven system to become a tactical athlete.  What is Seasonal Tactical Fitness Periodization?

Questions?  Just email Stew@StewSmithFitness.com

If you want to ask questions about what program to consider or ask Stew to develop something more specific to a personal goal, let him know at Stew@stewsmithfitness.com:

• Consider checking out the assessment tool if you're preparing for special ops programs and wondering where you stand with candidates who graduated recently.

But have answers to the following questions when you email Stew:

• Are you training for a specific selection test (PST, BUD/S, SFAS)?
• What equipment do you have available right now?
• What is your athletic history?
• What are your short- and long-term goals? (weight gain/loss, military/LE service?)
• Are you looking for a written program, APP, or a more personalized approach with online coaching?

Your Mission Starts Now

Let today be the day you refuse to quit. Let today be the day you adopt a mindset that transforms setbacks into comebacks. Join the Never Quit Mindset revolution and discover your limitless potential.

Act now—seize your $100 savings and begin the transformation that will last a lifetime.

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