Some people are more productive, achieve greater things, and just seem to perform at a higher level. Ever wondered why some of us don’t? It is because we have a choice that is more comfortable that we gravitate to.

Ever heard about the training to become a Navy Seal? The few that survive the training, literally survive, because some trainees actually die just in the training, to go on to become part of an elite group of fighters. Men and women are pushed beyond the limits they were familiar with, to perform at extremely high levels, amidst distraction, stress, disorientation and physical pain. Yet, they execute, that is, the successful ones.

We have always heard that to be successful, you should be in the right environment, have the right friends, remove negative forces of friction. Well, you don’t need that to succeed, although they certainly increase your chances they do not ensure your success.

The reason that people are high achievers is probably as simple as Nike says, “Just Do It” Let’s revisit the Navy Seals. Seal trainees succeed because they are mainly mentally strong. At one time, post 9/11, the Navy was having problems acquiring enough SEAL graduates. They later found out that they were not focusing enough on the mental strength component in their recruitment. Being mentally strong may be simply being stubborn, not necessarily being smart, which might explain why many smart people don’t achieve high performance. When you are able to drown out the voices of reason and caution, you focus only on the task at hand. Those voices are frequently falsely disguised as self preservation, logic, and sanity. However, we cling to them as gospel, when we need a way out. Tony Clement, ex-Navy Seal, now VP of a company that connects big brands like Samsung, YouTube, to audiences around the world, said that, “Don’t think about what comes next” He said that this is a surefire way for your brain to talk you out of tasks. “Stay focus in the now”. For Navy Seals, the way out is through, dealing with the now and focusing primarily on it.

It is possible that one of the most basic ingredient of being successful, which sometimes is coined by another term, discipline, is the ability to not think about next, but focus on the execution of now. Nature gets things done by not thinking about if it is ready to perform. There is no other choice but to perform. Human beings tend to get into comfort zones and rationalize reasons for delay. However, when you think about what other human beings endure, Seals, in their training, it doesn’t seem tough to get up in the morning and run, compared to a Seal who has to wake up during Hell Week, where they go for a week with no more than four hours of sleep. It doesn’t seem tough to go to the gym and get those reps in, it doesn’t seem tough to stay up or sacrifice fun and stick to your study plan. The Seals training involves tests of physical endurance, mental toughness, pain and cold tolerance, teamwork, attitude and the ability to perform work under high physical and mental stress, and sleep deprivation. It is the toughest training in the U.S. Military.

Only 25% of SEAL candidates pass Hell Week. Those that pass, know that they can now do 20 times more than they ever attempted or thought possible of themselves. They know they will never quit or let a teammate down. Most people believe that Seals are about physical strength. It is part of it but the biggest requirement is mental toughness. It is the mind that will give up on you first, not the body. For this reason, a Seal knows that you must power though without giving the mind too much room to rationalize and defeat you.

So the next time, you are wondering whether you can run that mile, think about a Seal trainee, during Hell Week, moving in cold water, doing push-ups in muddy sandy conditions, and just get it done. There is no ideal condition, ideal time, just the moment, in which to execute or die. That is the choice. If you are faced with that choice, instead of sleeping more, studying later, postponing gym, you would get it done. Do Not Give Yourself a Choice.

So from today, we are going to practice a SEAL mentality, where we set a Standard of Excellence in the Achievements of our Life. Remove the alternative choices in your moment of hesitation and execute with excellence. The majority of trainees that survive Hell Week graduate to become SEALs. After Hell Week, the confidence, the assurance, in themselves is high. This is called Momentum. You only achieve it by getting something done under challenging circumstances, then another, getting tougher, stronger, more confident, which consequently helps to get tasks done more readily.

The amazing thing is that there is a SEAL in all of us, that is capable of things that we cannot even contemplate now. The good news is that all you have to do, is do the first thing that you don’t like to do. Do that thing and realize that you can get things done. The alarm goes off, you are awake, you start telling yourself that you didn’t sleep well the night before and you should grab a 15 mins more of sleep to function well at work. As soon as you start thinking, MOVE. Get into motion, stop thinking. Get that run, that gym grind, done! Go to the next unpleasant thing and the next. Pretty soon, you will be accomplishing the impossible. The only difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that one takes the way out and the other takes the tough way through.

BE A SEAL!
NOW, the next thing you have to do, could be the smallest thing, like getting up and making a healthy breakfast, run, push-ups, whatever big or small that you don’t want to do, just …Go, and set a new…

…..Standard of Excellence in the Achievements of your Life.

Don’t think….GO!!!

Be a S E A L

Remember: You are not alone anymore.