- The Process
- Posts
- How Navy SEALs build an unbreakable mindset
How Navy SEALs build an unbreakable mindset
You can learn and apply these principles, too
Teddy Mitrosilis
January 08, 2023
Welcome to the new readers who’ve joined us this week.
If you’re not subscribed, subscribe below and join 9,900+ growth-minded leaders who receive stories and insights on personal improvement every week.
Now, onto Issue 17.
Brought to you by: The Daily Creator
Writing is an essential business (and life) skill.
If you want to become a better writer and communicator, then check out The Daily Creator, my new newsletter.
You’ll get one simple + actionable tip to write well, every weekday.
This newsletter isn't just for “creators.”
It's also for leaders, investors, operators, managers, coaches and anyone who wants to communicate more effectively.
Join 1,300+ others (for FREE):
|
Today’s Issue
In 2021, I spent three days in the wilderness training with a Navy SEAL and a small team of people.
We learned leadership, communication, teamwork and backcountry survival skills, among other things.
But the most impactful thing we learned?
How Navy SEALs teach mindset.
There are three pillars, which anyone can learn and apply.
Today, I’m going to share them with you.
Let’s dive in.
How Navy SEALs build an unbreakable mindset
In Spring 2021, I spent three days deep in the Smoky Mountains training with a Navy SEAL and a small team.
It was some of the most beautiful country I’ve seen:
This wasn’t a hike.
It was a training mission.
We covered ~20 miles across rugged terrain, carrying 60+ pound packs and venturing into parts of the wilderness where you couldn’t afford to make a mistake.
It was the most intense and impactful training I’ve done in my life.
We learned how to survive in the wilderness.
We learned how to build an elite team.
We learned how to lead and be led.
We learned a lot about ourselves.
And the foundation of all of that was mindset.
The first lesson we learned — before we even stepped off to begin the mission on Day 1 — was how Navy SEALs teach mindset.
Our ability to grasp and execute this lesson would determine our safety and success on the mission.
In simple terms, mindset is how you view and process the world around you.
It influences how we think, feel and act in any situation.
Our mindset is impacting us (for better or worse) every moment of every day, whether we realize it or not.
The SEALs teach three pillars of mindset:
Patient
Present
Deliberate
Let’s breakdown each one.
1. Patient
“Be patient” is the first pillar of mindset.
We must be patient in three ways:
with ourselves
with our teammates
with the process
So, what does each mean?
Be patient with ourselves:
We’re going to make mistakes.
It’s part of the process of growth.
When we do, patience will help us work through challenges, learn and carry on.
Be patient with our teammates:
Our teammates are human.
They will also make mistakes.
Getting frustrated with a teammate doesn’t help them or you.
If you want to be a great teammate, start by being patient.
Be patient with the process:
Everything is a process.
We can’t achieve a goal on the first step.
We can’t master a new skill on Day 1 of practicing it.
Being patient with the process helps us be consistent.
Relentless consistency over time wins.
How to apply the principle of Patient:
We can apply patience every day in countless ways.
Start with yourself. What are you working towards?
Give yourself permission to be patient.
2. Present
“Be present” is the second pillar of mindset.
SEAL training (known as BUD/S) is notoriously difficult.
But SEALs often say the same thing:
There’s no single element that’s extraordinarily difficult.
Almost every candidate can complete each individual evolution.
It’s the totality of it that breaks people.
When do you think most people quit in SEAL training?
If you guessed Hell Week (like me), great guess.
But you’re wrong.
Most people quit in one of the easiest evolutions.
It’s a 1-mile beach run.
No time requirement. You just have to look like you’re running.
The catch: you don’t know when it will end.
You run until the instructors tell you to stop.
So, why do so many quit when all they need to do is lightly jog?
They fail to stay present.
Instead of thinking about the next step, they wonder when it will end.
They tell themselves they can’t do this forever.
They become overwhelmed and then mentally broken.
How to apply the principle of Present:
Focus on what you’re doing right now.
Not later today, not tomorrow, not next week.
Practice training your mind to be in THIS moment.
You’ll fail - it’s okay.
Just recognize when you’re not present and bring yourself back.
Practice this consistently, and you’ll quickly develop the muscle.
3. Deliberate
“Be deliberate” is the third pillar or mindset.
Being deliberate means exercising self-control.
We must be deliberate in two ways:
with our actions
with our speech
Be deliberate with our actions:
For SEALs, this is obvious.
Every physical action can mean life or death in combat.
Thankfully for most of us, that’s not the case.
But our physical actions still matter.
They keep us safe, healthy and out of harms way.
Be deliberate with our speech:
The spoken word is unbelievably powerful.
What we say impacts us and those around us more than we know.
If you ever talk to a SEAL, you’ll notice most of them waste few words and are extremely intentional in what they say. This has been trained into them.
When things get hard, the power of our speech is amplified.
Our tongue is our rudder.
How to apply the principle of Deliberate:
Pay attention to your body.
How you move, how your body feels, how you do simple things like picking up groceries.
Develop physical awareness.
Pay attention to what you say.
What purpose do your words serve?
Do they supply energy or do they drain it?
Be intentional with them.
Summary
That’s nhow Navy SEALs teach mindset.
To recap, there are three pillars:
Be patient
Be present
Be deliberate
By the way, here’s a picture of our team a couple hours from completing the mission (I'm on the far right):
We were exhausted but fulfilled.
We knew if we remained patient, present and deliberate until the end, the mission would be a success.
Consistently practice and apply these principles, and any mission you take on in business and life will have a better chance of being a success, too.
Teddy’s Recommendations
For those of you who enjoy podcasts, I want to recommend a few I’ve been enjoying lately:
Cleared Hot - Andy Stumpf is former Navy SEAL and BUD/S instructor. In this show, he shares a lot of lessons learned in the military and interviews interesting guests. (P.S. The 2007 USA Water Polo Team spent a few hours going through BUD/S training, and a young Andy Stumpf was the instructor in this YouTube video.)
Invest Like The Best - Patrick O’Shaughnessy interviews some of the top investors and business leaders in the world. I learn a ton in this podcast.
Who Is Your Momma - My friend and entrepreneur Megan Reilly interviews the moms who raised some of the most successful CEOs, athletes and entertainers. I love this show. It’s criminally underrated.
I’d love to hear from you
What’s your biggest takeaway from this issue?
Reply to this email and let me know.
I personally read every email.
Thanks for reading.
See you next Sunday.