Surviving survival skills
Many things in life are proportionate to the effort required to accomplish them.
I have always loved (from a distance) the fantastic effort involved in Navy Seal training. One part of that training involves a process of "drown hardening. "This involves the fastening of your hands behind your back. Then your feet are fastered together and you are thrown backward into a pool 9 feet deep.
Your mission is to survive for five minutes.
As expected most trainees fail the process. Most immediately panic at the disorientation and "lose it". They scream to be lifted back out. There is a process of thrashing in the water. Then a loss of consciousness and a need for resuscitation. In many instances trainees have died!
The secret to success involves an inverse paradox. The more you struggle, the more you sink!
Over the years, a number of trainees have even died during the exercise.
But some people make it. And they do so because they understand two counter intuitive lessons.
The second is similar. Increased panic results in a higher rate of burning oxygen. More effort to live increases the chance you will die! This is a test of your emotional self control. You must control your own impulses, master yourself! against potential death by controlled breathing. In a condition where a mission is more than your existence, this is critical
This pattern of adaptive resilience is necessary. It is important not just for this training but for life. But life doesn't exist on a linear curve. It's not true that that there is always a one to one ratio between effort and reward!
This is a universal principle and applies just as readily to your business as it does to survival training. Wealthy Affiliate is a great proving ground for business opportunity. This environment similarly requires an interleaved pattern of success and failure. Many here have mastered it because in some way and some method they apply the principles brought up in this article.
As we go forth day to day, use the training here. Repeat it, get it down and live it!
Recent Comments
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Hey, Mike,
So true about the breathing exercises. I've tried it before and it really does work. Navy Sealing it for me would not work. I'm not a strong swimmer at all. I'd drown for sure. Becky
Fantastic post, Maestro! That is such a good analogy, however it would be incredibly difficult to control oneself in the Navy Seal training, you would have to prepare for weeks with mental exercises and be confident in your breath-holding ability!
As strong and resilient we need to persevere in the WA environment, this pales in comparison to the "drown hardening" training!
Mike, you're amazing. How many posts is this today? I'm counting 6 — have I given you too much or too little credit for today? How do you do it? It's 10:30 here in the PST zone, and you're still working......
I guess I'll just stop wondering and continue appreciating. Thanks as always,
Tim
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Interesting post-Mike.