Unlock the Power of Your Navy SEAL Mindset: How to Achieve Peak Performance in Any Situation
As a Navy SEAL, I learned early on that the right mindset can be the difference between success and failure. Heck, even before I ever made it to SEAL Training, I learned this lesson because I failed the physical fitness test the first time I took it!
The Navy SEAL mindset is a powerful tool that can help anyone achieve their goals. There are five key lessons that I have learned from my experience as a Navy SEAL that can help you develop this mindset and achieve success in any area of your life.
I like to call it the GET NAKED! Mindset.
When you start using this, GET NAKED! Navy SEAL Mindset I’d like for you to start small. Pick the one area in your life that you need to improve more than any other area and start applying this mindset to that one area. Once you have mastered that one area, move to the next area you want to improve, then the next…
The reason I call it the GET NAKED! Mindset is because it requires you to take off that armor or mask or ego or baggage that you may have been carrying around or hiding behind…
Take it off and “GET NAKED!”. The other reason is that the first letter in the following five lessons spells out the word NAKED!
1. Never Quit:
The training we go through is designed to push us to our limits, both physically and mentally. The instructors want to see how we react when we are tired, hungry, and stressed. They want to see if we have the mental toughness to push through the pain and keep going.
This lesson has served me well both in my SEAL career and in my personal life. Whenever I face a difficult challenge or setback, I remind myself to never quit by creating Small Victories. I focus on taking one step at a time and keep moving forward no matter how difficult the situation may be. I have found that creating Small Victories gave me back control when I found myself in situations that were completely out of my control. You may have heard the saying, “Control what you can control.” Use small victories to create your own control.
2. Accept Failure:
Failure is a natural part of life, and it’s impossible to avoid it completely. As a SEAL, I have experienced more failure than I’d like to admit! I have missed shots, made mistakes on missions, and failed to meet my goals. However, I have learned that failure is not the end. Instead, it’s an opportunity to learn and grow. By accepting failure, I can use it as a stepping stone to success. Analyze what went wrong and use that information to improve skills and performance.
The Navy SEAL Creed states: “If knocked down, I will get back up, every time. I am very out of the fight.” If I’m being honest, failure has taught me things and given me experiences that no amount of money could buy. I wouldn’t trade my failures for all the success in the world. Failure has made me the man I am today! How many times have you been knocked down? Did you get back up? You should! You are never out of the fight! Accept that failure and use it as a foundation for your success!
3. Kill Mediocrity:
As a SEAL, we are always striving for excellence. We push ourselves to be the best we can be in every situation. And we don’t settle for mediocrity. We constantly seek ways to improve our skills and performance. This lesson applies to every area of life. If you want to achieve your goals, you need to strive for excellence in everything you do. You need to push yourself to be better than you were yesterday.
I believe we are at WAR. We are surrounded by the enemy of Mediocrity. If you don’t think so, tell me how easy it is to get sucked into scrolling social media or find excuses not to work out or attack our goals for the day. I’m no different than you…I struggle with this but have found the key to winning the battle of mediocrity in my life.
I started to compete. When I do, I compete in kindness and gratitude! I have found Gratitude to be a superpower! Every day I write down 5 things that I’m grateful for, and one of those things has to be something that has brought me great pain.
When I win these small battles, I start to win the bigger war and start killing mediocrity in my life, and you can too!
4. Expose your Fears:
As a SEAL, we are trained to face our fears and overcome them. We know that fear can paralyze us and prevent us from taking action. By exposing our fears and facing them head-on, we can overcome them.
This lesson applies to any area of life. If you have fears or anxieties that are holding you back, you need to face them. You need to identify what is causing the fear and take steps to overcome it.
Mark Twain once said: “Courage is the resistance of fear, the mastery of fear, not the absence of fear.” I have a lot to say about fear. I’ve probably experienced more than most, and not even the fear of combat or death. But I will not bore you with those stories, plus this article isn’t long enough to do a deep dive. What I can tell you is by doing the things that scare you, facing those demons that are in your head holding you back from your greatness, you will start to control those fears, and they will stop controlling you!
5. The final lesson I learned is to Do the Work:
As a SEAL, we are given a mission, and it’s our responsibility to execute it. We don’t make excuses or cut corners. We do the work that needs to be done. This lesson applies to achieving any goal. If you want to achieve your goals, you need to put in the work. You need to be willing to do whatever it takes to reach your goals.
In the SEAL Teams, we have a saying, “Earn your trident (the symbol of a Navy SEAL) every day.” When I graduated from SEAL Training, I did not have that mindset. I thought I’d graduated from the hardest military training in the world. The hard part is done.
I couldn’t have been more wrong! In the SEAL Teams, you are expected to always improve in everything you do, even if it’s only by .0000000001%. Always strive to improve by doing the work!
Developing the Navy SEAL mindset is not easy, but it’s worth it. By applying these five lessons, or 5 Navy SEAL Secrets, you can develop the mental toughness, resilience, and discipline needed to achieve your goals. If you would like to connect with me and learn more about the GET NAKED! Mindset and how you can unlock your Navy SEAL mindset. Let us know by going to http://www.5SEALSecrets.com.
More articles from our VIP Executive Contributor, William Branum.