If you are a special ops candidate who wants to know how to gain a competitive edge through training or knowledge, then here is a list of what I learned going through the journey.   

Everyone needs to understand that you need all the tools you can fit into your back pack when going through a military special ops selection program that has a 70-80% attrition rate on average. Some of these things I learned will give you a better understanding of the challenges and requirements that are in front of you on this journey.  The biggest thing you have to realize is that BUD/S IS the test, and these are the things you will learn by taking that test.

What I Learned:  # 1 - Your Body Is Ten Times Stronger Than Your Mind Will Let It Be

• Being mentally tough requires you to keep competing when your mind wants you to quit. We all have a “safety switch” in our brain that tells us to stop in order to prevent us from hurting ourselves. We are natural born survivors built to conserve our energy, store food, and just simply live to survive another day. There are times you can actually shut that part of your brain off. When you do this, you realize your body is ten times stronger than your brain will let it be. Training programs in the Special Operations world helps you tap into this mindset, but often your life experiences and habits can build a mental toughness and resilience that no one can beat. See One Stop Shop for Mental Toughness Training Skills  

What I Learned:  # 2 - I Found The Fuel - When The Tank Was Empty

• What is your why? If you do not know  your why, you will not find the fuel when the tank is empty.  In the end it comes down to HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT? Also, do you have a good answer to tell yourself when you are cold, wet from sitting in dark ocean water, sandy, tired, and there is no end in sight? What do you say when your WILL is challenged?  Do you keep going? Or head toward the warm blankets and coffee / doughnuts in the back of the ambulance? There is always warm blankets and coffee / doughnuts in the ambulance…
  
  

 What I Learned:  # 3 - Have Faith In Yourself

• If it is meant to be it is meant to be. Eventually your desire will outweigh any obstacle in your way if you build a strong foundation, determine your WHY, and have faith in yourself. You have to learn that you cannot listen to the quit demon inside your own head, you have to turn it off by changing the communication flow. Like a radio, you need to be transmitting positive thoughts, not receiving negative ones.  Be in transmit mode!  So, yes - actually "Talk to Yourself - Don't Listen to Yourself."   This is all done with your internal dialogue as long as YOU are the one talking POSITIVELY! Sometimes it is not meant to be. Have faith that there is another opportunity in the next chapter.  

What I Learned:  # 4 - Train To Compete - Not Just Survive

• In special ops training programs, athletic events, or even business — this is the biggest difference in those who graduate training or succeed and those who do not. You should try to be in the type of shape and mindset that will allow you to win or be in the top 10% of the class in many events — at least some of the time. I developed this saying, shortly before I ran a marathon for the first and last time. My goal was to finish a 26 mile run. I saw a skinny kid from Africa warming up and I realized he was about to run the same race as I was but his goal was to drop a minute off his best time. My goal was to survive the event. Who has a better chance and finishing the race? The kid who was in competition mode – not me. I succeeded with my goal and was able to use the Compete – Not Just Survive quote many times that day and ever since in my life. Too many of us, in general, just get by each day “putting in their time” and barely living. Knowing that you are stuck in survival mode is a realization that can be the first step to learning how to change your life and compete for the first time in your life.

What I Learned:  # 5 - Make It To The Next Meal - Best Advice For Graduating Hellweek.

• Break down your day into more consumable blocks of time. During hellweek, you eat every 6 hours. I cannot tell you how many times, I have started big projects and set sub goals on daily progress. It works for everything you do in life and was effective in enduring the toughest week in training.

 What I Learned:  # 6 - You Have To Do It Yourself, But You Can’t Do It Alone

• This is old saying was personally experienced by every student in training. Team work is a requirement - your ability to work well with others is a skill you must have or acquire quickly. You and your fellow students endure training together. While it is true no one but YOU can carry you through training, there will be moments when you need the team. Even if for only a moment of humor, an assist on a piece of gear, or to advise on a new skill that is currently challenging you, the team you have before, during, and after training is everything. Don't think you are alone, but also realize you have to do it yourself. 

What I Learned:  # 7 - You Never Think About Quitting When You Think About Winning

• It is true. In a program that boasts an 80% attrition rate from those who make it TO the training, you have to strive to be in the top 20% of the class in as many events as possible. You may have some natural strengths that allow for you to win or be in the top 10% of the class.  And there may be an event that requires a personal gut check to stay in the top 20%. Any small victory is a HUGE win. If you stay in this competitive mindset, you will NEVER think about quitting. It is fun to reminisce with my old frogman friends and ask them, "was there a moment you thought about quitting?"  Everyone gives me either a funny look at such a foreign question or a joke about quitting at boot camp or maybe that one time we were doing pushups... No one thought about quitting. You can't.  You cannot have a plan B.

The next step here is to realize that SEAL Training is the gate into the community that you want to serve.  BUDS is the test. When people say that "BUDS is not for them" I always say "yeah - it is not for anybody – it sucks." It is the test for how bad you want to be in a special ops community. 

Oh, one more thing, The Assessment Tool for Selection and the What Program is Right for Me – Special Ops answers your questions on where you should start with your training preparation. If you want to gain a competitive edge through training or knowledge. Grab the program that specifically addresses your physical requirements of your training to get TO and THROUGH BUD/S.

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