I’m back from a life-changing weekend at SEALFIT.
I want to thank all of you who sent messages of well wishes – your support is/was unbelievable and I’m proud to be a part of this amazing family. THANK YOU.
Now, it’s time to share some of the lessons I learned so that YOU can benefit from this experience.
First of all, spending a day with 2 Navy SEALS is incredible. These guys are the real heroes – if you ever get a chance to learn from them, I highly suggest it. Brad McCleod and Chris Smith AKA – Quattro-Duece, are awesome people and I look forward to the chance to learn from them again in the future.
We were the first group to ever experience & complete Kokuro outside of California. Kokuro is a word that does not translate into the English language – but roughly means indomitable spirit, unbeatable mind, grit, etc. Invictus and the Finnish phrase “SISU” have similar meanings.
We went from 6AM – 6PM. 12 hours of anything is brutal. 12 hours sitting at the computer or driving a car will wear you out. 12 hours of PT (pushups, pullups, BW movements) ANYWHERE will be brutal.
So what makes the SEAL experience so different? Why is it so rewarding and life-changing? Here are 7 reasons:
Embrace The Suck
Learn to love the hard shit. Smile when you’re struggling through the worst imaginable scenario. Enjoy the feeling of completing something that would break a weaker spirit. When you go back to regular stuff, everything will seem so much easier. (Check out the “no handed burpees…in the ocean! Oh yeah, embracing the suck!)
Cramps Suck
Enough said!
Mind Over Matter
Like I said, we went from 6AM-6PM with about a 30 minute break for lunch around 1:30. We were all cramping at 10AM with 8 hours remaining. The body was already breaking down, and asking for mercy. But the mind is stronger than the body. Don’t have a mat for your ab work? Don’t want to eat cold food when your away from home? Have 2 pounds of sand in your boots and pockets? Who fucking cares! Focusing on these things shows that your mind is NOT focused on the true task at hand. When you dig in, grit your teeth and find that indomitable spirit within yourself, you are capable of anything.
Stay Cool Under Pressure
The REAL SEALS are faced with life-threatening situations when on a mission. They can’t afford mental mistakes. Such mistakes will result in death – not an option for these guys. They are trained to maintain focus no matter how much stress and chaos surrounds them. When you “embrace the suck” and learn “mind over matter”, you allow your mind to block out the outside world. You don’t focus on the pain, the stress, or the chaos – only the task at hand. For example, we were given lines to memorize, then led through crazy, punishing, mettle-testing physical tests. Then we had to recite our lines from memory. You can develop this yourself. Here’s how: Choose a line that means something special to you. It can be a quote or passage from a movie, song, poem, whatever. Now, memorize it before your next training session. Then recite it to yourself as you push through your greling session. Let the line(s) power you through the suck. Draw strength from it. Then on the other side, recite the line aloud. BOOM!
Attention To Detail
Again, these guys are trained to miss not a single detail. This is what keeps them alive. Shirts tucked in, buttons buttoned, snaps snapped. Dot your i’s and cross your t’s. They say the devil is in the details. Restaurants owners need to make sure cold drinks are cold, menus are clean and not sticky. Those LITTLE mistake can ruin a first-time customer’s experience and cost that business to lose customers. That’s a death sentence for businesses. At the highest level, a 1% difference is all it takes to separate yourself from the pack. Chances are that 1% is in the details…
Sharpen The Knife
That’s why we were there. Not to pretend to be soldiers. Not to prove anything to anyone. But to make ourselves better. Look at life in nature…flowers blossom to a peak then die. Male lions grow, mature and eventually become the dominant leader of the herd. But once that pack leader stops being the #1 ALPHA, he is defeated and sent off to die alone. This is some primal shit, and it may be hard for some to accept – but the day you stop growing is the day you start dying. Constantly sharpen the knife – never stop growing. Pursue Perfection (and progress!)
True Warriors Are Silent
Not ONCE did these guys tell us how badass they were. They NEVER felt the need to tell us what they could bench, how fast they could run, or what they had accomplished in their lives. They KNOW that doesn’t matter. What does a ninja sound like? If the Navy SEALS had to invade your house, do you think you’d hear them coming? True warriors suffer operate in silence – as such, we suffered in silence. No moaning, no grunting, and certainly no complaining or whining (we don’t do that!) – no matter what obstacle stared us down.
The SealFit Kokoro Challenge is more than just a bunch tough physical challenges. It consists of “5 Mountains”
- Physical
- Mental
- Emotional
- Awareness
- Kokoro
The biggest lesson here is to CONSTANTLY seek improvement in ALL 5 aspects of life. There is no finish line. Never stop improving.
Pursue Perfection.