3 Techniques to Build a Strong Mindset

Introduction:

How a 150 kg boy, who was miserable in life and considered a loser by everyone, used to pass every exam by cheating. His full-time job was doing pest control and killing cockroaches in people’s kitchens. But one day he realized that he was not born just to kill cockroaches in life. And on that day, he changed. He is now a lone officer in the US Army, who has not only passed the toughest training of the Navy SEALs but has also completed training in the Army Ranger School and as a Technical Air Controller. Today, he is considered the toughest man alive. Let’s learn from David how to build a strong mindset in life.

David has run over 60 Ultra marathons and has mostly achieved a top 5 position.

Not only that, He has also done 4030 pull-ups in just 17 hours and made it into the World’s Book of Records.

Despite having a ‘hole in the heart’, he did it all.

Today he has 5 million Instagram followers. You will be inspired by reading his life story.

I’ll share some of the key lessons from David’s book ‘Can’t Hurt Me’ that will ignite a fire within you and help you to build a strong mindset.

How did David recognize the Purpose of Life?

David weighed 150 kg and was very unhappy with his job as a pest control and his life. One day he was watching TV and came across a commercial about Navy Seals. The Commanding Officer of Navy Seals, which is considered the world’s best operation force, was saying that Navy Seals need people who don’t like to be mediocre and enjoy taking on challenges.

David felt like the Commanding Officer was just speaking to him. He was tired of his life and looking for an opportunity to prove himself. So, he started working on himself and proved the old saying ‘change your Mind to change your Life‘.

He would wake up at 4:00 am, eat a banana, and go to the gym for 2 hours of cycling. After breakfast, he would prepare for the NAVY Seal exam (ASVAB) and then practice swimming in the pool for 2 hours. Later in the evening, he would go to the gym to do bench press and leg exercises. After a light dinner, he would go cycling for 2 more hours. Gradually he added pull-ups, push-ups, and a 4 km run to his daily routine.

In just 6 months, he had already fulfilled the minimum requirements of the Navy SEAL. His weight and fitness were also excellent, and his height had always been 6.2 feet.

However, this was just the beginning.

Navy SEAL training is six months long months and is divided into 3 phases. The first phase is ‘Physical Training’, followed by ‘Diving Training’ in the second phase, and finally ‘War Training’ in the last phase. Only about 20% of recruits can successfully complete this training. This is because it not only tests the trainee’s physical ability but also their mental toughness.

David failed his training twice. The first time it was pneumonia fever. The second time, he broke his knee. However, he didn’t give up.

This was David’s third and final chance. The commanding officer had made it clear that if he failed this time or got hurt, he would never get another chance. That’s why David knew that even if he broke a bone this time, he would not give up.

The third time it was a success. David became a Navy SEAL.

It’s 5 1/2 days of cold, damp, and extremely challenging operational training of the Navy SEALs is referred to as the “hell week“. People often inquire why individuals abandon this perilous training after just a week, wondering how they managed to endure it for 18 months. They used to ask him, ‘How do you build a strong Mindset’?

David’s 3 Techniques to Build a Strong Mindset:

1) Let go of Challenges and focus on Visualization of Success:

When we prepare for an important exam or game, we get nervous. This is because there are so many things that are beyond our control. But instead of thinking about things we cannot change, it is better for us to visualize them step by step.

David says, “Before starting any challenging activity, I make a mental picture of what I want to achieve. I visualize it and I feel it. For example, if I want to run a 150 km race, I visualize that race every day. And this gives me a lot of inspiration during training, preparation, and practice.”

The visualization is not just about the victory ceremony, but also about seeing each upcoming challenge. For example, as your body begins to run out of glucose after 50 km, and your head starts to feel heavy in the heat, I will take salt and sugar tablets. I will repeatedly remind myself of this in my mind, or I will listen to this song on my headphones during the race. Or I will add an affirmation routine to my training now, which I will hum during the race.

David argues that visualization alone is not enough. He recommends ‘looking at the challenges’, ‘examining the solutions’, and then ‘working on those solutions daily’.

Here are the steps to follow:

• • • Before starting a challenging activity, visualize your goal.
    • During visualization, analyze each challenge and its corresponding solution.
    • Finally, practice those solutions daily.

2) You should have personal clarity:

This means that you should have a clear understanding of the goal you are trying to achieve:

• • • Why do I want to achieve this goal?
    • What motivates me to do this?
    • What is the source of my motivation?

If you have a negative emotion like anger or anything else that motivates you to Reach your Goals, where does it come from?

• • • Which past experiences have given you mental toughness?

David here says, “When pain causes doubts and worries in your mind, these questions arise in a negative tone in your mind. These old negative memories start appearing in front of you as complaints. It happens so fast in your subconscious that you don’t even notice it. But if you have true answers to these questions and can use a warrior mindset, then you will be the winner.”

3) Develop a Warrior Mindset:

To develop a warrior mindset, focus on these 2 steps:

• • • Reflect on the struggles and suffering you have faced.
    • Remember how many Obstacles and challenges you have overcome to stand where you are now.

By surpassing waves of disappointment and frustration, you will never accept defeat. This will give birth to a warrior mindset within you, which will lead you to victory.

Sympathetic Nervous System and the Warrior Mindset:

When you don’t run away from the problem, your body and your mind enter the ‘fight mode’. The first thing that happens is that a special hormone starts to be released throughout your body. This hormone increases the oxygen and glucose levels in your blood. You feel more energized all over your body. Your heart starts to beat faster. Your blood flow increases in your muscle and brain areas. This increases your alertness.

In short, the ‘sympathetic nervous system’ turns you into a Superhuman in fight mode. The only thing you need to do is stay positive mindset in the pain and confusion state for a while. This means avoiding negative self-talk from the mind.

David’s philosophy is that if you can control your mind, the Sympathetic Nervous System will always help you. You don’t need to go to seal training for this.

When you feel like quitting your job or starting to doubt your abilities, that’s when you should use the warrior mind concept.

Always remind yourself that you have experienced many failures. But today, you are trying again. Because every failure has made you stronger.

Bottom Line:

It isn’t something, that you can Build a strong mindset overnight. It’s a mentality you build over years of practice and hard work, David Goggins also built a strong mindset over months of practice.

Another lesson from the World’s Toughest SEAL Training:

According to David Coggins, “The Water Evolution is the most difficult part of the entire US Navy Seal training program,”. There’s no oxygen in the water, and the environment is constantly changing. Which significantly increases your stress level. You only have three opportunities to pass the Evolution Test. If you don’t pass it, your Navy Seal dream is over.”

Next, David reveals that during the ‘Hell Week’ training, his knee was almost broken. However, he couldn’t tell anyone, otherwise he would have been kicked out of the training. Because of this, the ‘water Evolution’ test became even more difficult for him.

There was a unique ‘Evolutions’ there where you have to tie 5 knots underwater. You will be accompanied by a trainer who will challenge you and evaluate your performance.

David Goggins shares his experience, saying, “I had a really tough trainer that day. He was really tough and he didn’t like me at all. The trainer wanted me to give up. He challenged me and asked me if I could tie five knots in one breath.”

David added, “This training was very difficult for me because I had a broken knee, which made my heart beat faster. However, I accepted the challenge.”

“When I tried to take a breath before diving, the trainer started splashing water on my face. Because of this, I had to go underwater without taking a deep breath, which is called a negative breath hold. I finished the first knot in just a few seconds. But then I had to wait under the water until the trainer thoroughly inspected and approved my knot. Then, I tied the second knot. The trainer took quite some time to check the second knot”.

Next David says, “At that time, due to a lack of oxygen, darkness started to creep in front of my eyes. I could faint at any moment. The fear of death started haunting me in the water and had some negative thoughts also. Why should I suffer? Why take the risk of dying? What’s the point of becoming a Navy Seal? That trainer was enjoying himself seeing my doubt and pain. I saw his smile and all the bullying and problems from my childhood came back to me.”

“However, at that moment, something incredible happened. Suddenly my mind completely changed the story. I realized that I had been looking at my life from the wrong perspective. All the negativity, abuse, and hardships I have faced in life have made me stronger from the inside. At that moment, I understood that I am not a victim, but a warrior, and this life is my ultimate training ground. Every setback, failure, and struggle that I have faced so far has made me stronger than this crazy trainer”.

David said, all these things came inside me like a flash. It felt like time had stopped. And within me, a different kind of confidence and strength emerged. The lack of oxygen, knee pain, and unconsciousness all disappeared. I just smiled at my trainer tied the last knot and passed the evolutions.

David recalls that moment and says, “I was in a state of mind where I didn’t care about the lack of oxygen. And on that day, two trainers were forcing me to do ‘Bear Crawls’.”

At that time, David couldn’t lift his leg due to the pain in his broken knee. However, David had reached a mental state where fear, complaints, and pain had disappeared. David started doing “bear crawls” at high speed despite his broken knee.

After half an hour, when the trainers were tired, one of them said, “I wonder where Superman entered you from, David?”

David replied to this incident, “Even I didn’t know, I don’t know what was happening with me all day. How did I surpass the limits of human pain?”

The answer to this was hidden in the ‘Sympathetic Nervous System’ and the ‘Warrior Mindset’.

When we face failure or pain, we forget that we have won so many battles before this moment. We have worked so hard to get to this point, and only then does this moment appear before us. When we realize this, we will be able to face the pain for a little longer. And then the ‘Sympathetic Nervous System’ will help them.

Also, Learn the Top 5 Techniques to use more of your Brain

How to Overcome Challenges in Life: David Goggins

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