Navy SEALs are the most elite warriors on earth.

How do they become that way?

By developing an unbreakable mindset.

Here’s how they do it (and how you can, too):

Last year, I spent 3 days in the wilderness training with a Navy SEAL.

A large part of training was on mindset.

• what it is
• why it matters
• how to apply it

Here’s what I learned:

In simple terms, mindset is how you view and process the world around you.

It influences how we think, feel and act in any situation.

Our mindset is impacting us (for better or worse) every moment of every day, whether we realize it or not.

The SEALs teach three 3 pillars of mindset:

1. Patient
2. Present
3. Deliberate

Let’s breakdown each one.

1. Patient

“Be patient” is the first pillar of mindset. We must be patient in 3 ways:

• with ourselves
• with our teammates
• with the process

So what does each mean?

With ourselves:

We’re going to make mistakes. It’s part of the process of growth.

When we do, patience will help us work through challenges, learn and carry on.

With our teammates:

Our teammates are human. They will also make mistakes.

Getting frustrated with a teammate doesn’t help them or you.

If you want to be a great teammate, start by being patient.

With the process:

Everything is a process.

We can’t achieve a goal on the first step.

We can’t master a new skill on Day 1 of practicing it.

Being patient with the process helps us be consistent.

Relentless consistency over time wins.

How to apply Patience:

We can apply patience every day in countless ways.

Start with yourself. What are you working towards?

Give yourself permission to be patient.

Then start being more patient with others.

2. Present

“Be present” is the second pillar of mindset.

SEAL training is notoriously difficult.

But SEALs often say the same thing: There’s no single element that’s extraordinarily difficult.

Almost everyone can complete each one.

It’s the totality of it that breaks people.

When do you think most people quit in SEAL training?

If you guessed Hell Week (like me), great guess.

But you’re wrong.

Most people quit in one of the *easiest* evolutions.

It’s a 1-mile beach run. No time requirement. You just have to look like you’re running.

The catch: you don’t know when it will end.

Run until the instructors tell you to stop.

So why do so many quit when all they need to do is lightly jog?

Simple: they fail to stay present.

Instead of thinking about the next step, they wonder when it will end.

They tell themselves they can’t do this for hours longer.

They become overwhelmed and then mentally broken.

How to apply Present:

Focus on what you’re doing right now.

Not later today, not tomorrow, not next week.

Practice training your mind to be in THIS moment.

You’ll fail - it’s okay. Just bring yourself back.

Practice this consistently, and you’ll quickly develop the muscle.

3. Deliberate

“Be deliberate” is the third pillar or mindset.

Being deliberate means exercising self-control.

We must be deliberate in 2 ways:

• with our actions
• with our speech

With our actions:

For SEALs, this is obvious. Every physical action can mean life or death in combat.

Thankfully for most of us, that’s not the case.

But our physical actions still matter. They keep us safe, healthy and out of harms way.

With our speech:

The spoken word is powerful.

If you talk to a SEAL, you’ll notice most of them waste few words + are extremely intentional in what they say.

This has been trained into them. When things get hard, the power of our speech is amplified.

Our tongue is our rudder.

How to apply Deliberate:

Pay attention to your body. How you move, how you feel, how you do simple things like picking up groceries. Develop physical awareness.

Pay attention to your words. What purpose do they serve? Do they supply energy or do they drain it? Be intentional.

So, that’s how Navy SEALs teach mindset.

1. Be patient
2. Be present
3. Be deliberate

It's simple, not easy.

But if it works in the most high-risk environments on earth, I promise it will work for you.

Thanks for reading.

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