In order to become a SEAL you must first complete a rigorous six-month training program called BUD/S, which stands for Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL. I’d heard that about 90 percent of the people who start the course drop out due to the tremendous mental and physical demands placed upon them. But because I wanted to be a SEAL more anything else, I trained hard to prepare myself for the challenges that I would face. I was determined to make it through, and eventually I did just that. It wasn’t easy, and at times I was pushed to my absolute limits, but along the way I learned a lot about myself and where exactly my own personal boundaries were defined. I also learned how to go beyond those boundaries from time to time in order to achieve the objectives that I had set for myself.
It wasn’t until I joined the Navy, and set my focus on becoming a SEAL, that I managed to set my life on a positive trajectory. It was then that I learned the value of discipline, training, and setting personal goals. This became a mindset that would eventually allow me to succeed not only as a SEAL, but in other aspects of my life too, instilling in me the ability to shrug off fear and doubt and press forward even in the face of overwhelming adversity.
I’ve witnessed shootings, decapitations, and stabbings. I’ve been taken prisoner twice but managed to escape and evade capture, returning to duty just days later. I’ve served as a SEAL jungle survival, desert survival, and arctic survival instructor; small arms weapons instructor; foreign weapons instructor; armed and unarmed defense tactics; advanced hand-to-hand combat instructor; and Survival, Evade, Resistance and Escape instructor. In these roles, I’ve helped shape the minds and bodies of countless operatives, including several of the men who conducted the daring raid that led to the death of Osama Bin Laden.
Today, even though I’ve retired from the SEAL Teams, I continue to train some of our country’s most elite warriors and athletes, as well as various government agency personnel. Dozens of times a year I’m invited to talk to business, civic, and athletic groups about something I call “Reaching beyond Boundaries.” I talk to them about developing the mental toughness needed to perform at the top of their abilities under difficult circumstances. What I tell them is that their learning and training never ends, and that the boundaries that we think are confining us are more often than not self-imposed.
It is my belief that when setting our own personal goals we typically aim too low, usually out of fear and self-doubt. I also firmly believe that mental, physical, and spiritual discipline can give us the confidence we need to blow past any barriers that stand in our way. Whether we’re competing in sports, business, or facing any of life’s other myriad of challenges, knowing how to approach an objective and tackle roadblocks is a crucial part of achieving our goals. From leading men into combat, to managing a successful business, to completing a marathon, properly assessing our own true boundaries and learning how to move beyond them is often the key to success.
In addition to the many missions I’ve trained for and have been deployed on, I’ve also competed in over a thousand endurance competitions and ultra-distance athletic events in nearly every corner of the globe. Those competitions include Ironman and Double Ironman triathlons, as well as the legendary Raid Gauloises, an adventure race so tough it has been called the world’s most difficult human endurance event. Adventure races like the Raid take place over days and often cover hundreds of miles, bringing endurance sports to an entirely different level. To me, they are the toughest competitions in the world, demanding the very best from any athlete. Naturally, I was drawn to them like a moth to a flame.
Without question I’m a bit of a physical training fanatic. One of my favorite mottos is “blood from any orifice.” No one will ever accuse me of discounting the importance of physical training. I love it and do it every day of the year—rain or shine. Whether I’m running, swimming, biking, paddling, or lifting weights, the day simply isn’t complete until I’ve managed to work in some form of physical exercise. For decades I have honed my strength and endurance, preparing to face the next challenge, no matter what form that challenge might appear. In fact, at one point in my life, I worked out for more than twenty-one years straight, without a day off— something that I am incredibly proud of.
I believe that a person can learn a lot about themselves while training for—and competing in—a running, cycling, paddling, or other type of endurance event. Often times, it isn’t until we’ve taken ourselves to the absolute brink that we can identify where our boundaries actually lie and gain the confidence we need to push through them. Endurance sports can be the perfect environment for exploring those boundaries and redefining what we are capable of achieving.
With this book, we will examine ways that you too can push through the boundaries that you’ve set for yourself. We’ll talk about setting goals and how to achieve them, while also developing a mental toughness that can get you through just about any challenge.
We’ll also share a number of thrilling real-life examples of this kind of mental toughness as it has been utilized by men and women during combat situations, in life or death survival scenarios, while embarking into the unknown, and during some of the most extreme sporting events in the world. These are all areas where mental toughness can be an asset that is even more important than physical gifts and intensive training.
(To be continued...)
This excerpt is taken from “Reaching Beyond Boundaries: A Navy SEAL’s Guide to Achieving Everything You’ve Ever Imagined” by Don Mann and Kraig Becker.
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