Channel Your Inner “Navy SEAL” – I’d like you to go on a real-life mission with me using your imagination.
It’s around 1230 a.m.
It’s 55 degrees outside and raining.
We are swimming underwater, wearing a wetsuit under our camouflage uniform.
We are using an experimental scuba diving system that allows us to recycle our own breath for up to 4 hours and makes no bubbles.
We are connected by a 6-foot lanyard with a loop around one of our wrists so we don’t lose each other in the cold dark water.
Our mission is to find a particular ship in a harbor full of ships and deliver a package without anyone ever knowing we were there.
We continue to follow the preplanned compass bearing.
We know we are getting close to the mouth of the harbor because the crackle of snapping shrimp starts to get louder.
The dark ocean starts to light up as we enter the mouth of the harbor.
The sounds of machinery from the docks and ships get louder.
We turn 90 degrees at the appropriate time and swim for five more minutes.
We know we are getting closer to the ship because the compass starts to spin even though we haven’t changed directions.
Seconds later, we are in the darkest depths of hell… A darkness that we never knew could exist.
That darkness starts to consume our souls. The Rumble of shipboard machinery is now shaking us violently and uncontrollably.
Those next 30 to 60 seconds that feel like an eternity
Fear starts to take over. The fear of the unknown.
The fear of getting lost under the ship.
The fear that these could be the last moments of life and it is almost too much to handle.
We are in the belly of the beast…and we don’t know if we will ever get back home…
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I was a Navy SEAL for 26 years, and when I retired from the SEAL Teams, it felt like I lost my sense of mission, my team, and purpose overnight.
My transition from the SEAL Team’s to civilian life was and still is the hardest military mission I have ever been on.
I felt fear, doubt, and completely inadequate. What was my purpose, what was my mission, and who will be on my TEAM?
But then I realized that everything I needed to know about getting through this life transition, I’d already learned from planning thousands of missions in the SEAL Teams.
I believe everything we do in life is a mission. And every mission has transition points.
These are the times when we are moving from the known into the unknown.
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DIRT DIVES/TRANSITIONS TO LIFE
The truth is we all go through life transitions…
Whether it’s getting hired or fired, getting married, divorced, or into retirement.
Life transitions are tough because these are the times we are the most vulnerable.
Transitions stress us out because they take away our sense of security and often our own identity.
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PLANNING LIFE TRANSITIONS
So how can we plan our life transitions?
#1 KEEP MOVING
In Special Operations, we talk about that moment when we get ambushed by the enemy. We call that ambush point the “X.”
The “X” is the most dangerous place to be.
You have to keep moving even when you don’t want to.
And here’s how to do it:
# 2 MAKE A PLAN
Just like a SEAL Team mission, you make a plan. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just put pen to paper.
Start with what you want to do. If you want to change careers, you decide what you want to do…(Your new mission) and you make your plan. Next…
Brief your plan. In the SEAL Teams, the mission is briefed by the operators who are going on the mission.
Find people in your life that you trust.
Share your plan with them and ask them for feedback.
Sometimes just talking through your plan out loud will show you holes that need to be filled.
The next step is the most important step.
# 3 CONDUCT A DIRT DIVE The Dirt Dive…
This is where the MAGIC happens! The dirt dive is where you practice the plan.
The dirt dive is not merely a physical rehearsal but a mindset shift where you visualize every step of the plan.
The Dirt Dive is all about the transitions…the points of vulnerability. The points with a high probability of failure.
Walk and talk through every detail of the plan.
Discuss contingencies of what could go wrong and what to do if that happens.
Ask yourself “What if” during every phase of your plan.
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By asking “what if” over and over again during the Dirt Dive, you will be more prepared for things to go sideways during your life transition because they will.
This deep level of visualization and contingency planning will ensure you are ready for any contingency life throws at you.
Next is the fun part. To execute your plan, your mission.
You know that not everything will go according to plan, but you do it anyway. Have fun!
Once you have executed your mission, with mission success or mission failure, you conduct the last step, which is the
After Action Review.
This is a debrief. What went right? What went wrong? What do you need to change for the next mission in life? This is something you can do with friends or family to share your experiences because they will have their own life transitions very soon.
Then, Rinse and repeat.
Most people see life transitions coming at them, but they never make a plan, and they certainly never conduct a Dirt Dive.
This is a mistake.
So today, I’m telling you before you start your next transition through life, I want you to channel your inner “Navy SEAL.”
Whether you’re on a mission in the SEAL Teams or going through any major life change, you need to take the time to understand the transitions you’re going to face.
You don’t have to be blindsided by the mission that is your future.
That’s how you transition like a Navy SEAL.
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