WARRIOR MINDSET

Mindset Is Critical

Your performance and the ability to persevere through adversity are predicated on your mindset. The warrior mindset we are after presses forward into the fight. We want to embrace hardship, not shy away from it.

Maximizing your potential to perform at your highest level possible demands the correct attitude, perspective, and work ethic. These are the key ingredients to a high-performance mindset, and every one of these elements is within your control.

Your ATTITUDE is shaped by what you believe about the upcoming challenge (whatever that may be) and confidence in your ability to be successful through this challenge. Your preparation has a massive impact on your attitude and ultimately your confidence.

Your PERSPECTIVE, however, is the lens through which you view this upcoming challenge. Does your current perspective drive excitement and get you motivated to take action, or does this lens induce anxiety?

Your WORK ETHIC consists of how hard you work towards accomplishing your goals and ultimately how disciplined you are in being consistent in your preparation.

You have control over all of these variables. If you lack confidence, invest more time and energy in your preparation and ensure that what you are doing is relevant to your objective. If your perspective is off, discipline yourself to adjust your self-talk and rewire your approach to challenge and adversity.

To arm ourselves for success, we must constantly refine the process of training these three areas (attitude, perspective, and work ethic) to develop a high-performance mindset.

Warrior Mindset

We want to harness the ability to shift our perspective on hardship. If we are motivated or inspired to persevere through challenges, we will be more likely to thrive in the chaos.

This mindset transcends an identity, a sport, or a profession. Make no mistake about it: You go to war every day. However, most do not even realize it.

Every time you take the hard path to do what is right or whatever is required of you...you are in the fight. Whenever you show up and put in the work to become just a little bit better than you were yesterday...you are engaged in battle.

Warfare may also extend beyond the physical. Our battles can be physical, but also mental, psychological, and spiritual.

For those who are aware of the spiritual war that is constantly raging around ALL of us each day, you either choose to fight on the path of righteousness or submit to evil. These are decisions that are made every day, whether consciously or subconsciously.

Ephesians 6:12

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."

Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

This statement has been said many times by a variety of people in many arenas. From special operations to law enforcement to the firefighting community, to the sports and strength and conditioning realm, and beyond.

The ability to get comfortable with being uncomfortable requires a high-level foundation of mental toughness and fortitude. The statement encapsulates the concept of embracing hardship and willfully exposing oneself to adversity for a specific purpose.

I am personally not a fan of doing hard things or participating in extreme events for the sole purpose of doing something "hard". This may benefit some, but not everyone. I am a firm believer in chasing hardship with purpose. The truth is that doing the right thing in any situation and endeavor is difficult. This reality does not have to be manufactured. It just is.

If you want to take the "hard" fight, be a good friend, teammate, spouse, sibling, parent, employee, first responder, warrior, etc. It doesn't matter what you choose to do in life, the hard path is the one less traveled. Period.

With that being said, challenge yourself physically, mentally, and spiritually each day, and this discipline will forge tremendous resolve in every area of your life.

This exposure to purposeful adversity helps to strengthen our minds and build our character. This inoculation to the stresses of adversity makes us tougher in the process.

Learn How To Settle In

Embracing hardship implies finding comfort in uncomfortable situations. It is the idea of being able to function according to your true potential during times of stress and discomfort. This is the ability to suffer well and is often used with physical stress to drive performance.

"Settling in" is when we mentally relax into the hardship we are experiencing. Instead of looking for a way out, we accept our fate and learn to adjust to the pains and stresses of our current reality. When it comes to pain, you learn how to adjust and deal. It is temporary, and this discomfort will eventually end. When it does, we are going to be that much better off as a result.

Embracing hardship is a mindset that enables us to willfully go outside of our comfort zone and prepares us for the times when we are pushed to our limits. This is a major reason why physical training can be so powerful in conditioning our minds to overcome stress.

This is the foundation we build in a controlled environment to transcend to the next level of performance. This is because embracing hardship is a skill that must be harnessed and trained like any other to yield positive results.

Even though this concept is oftentimes used in the physical arena, it can apply to both the mental and the spiritual arenas as well. Regardless of the nature of the adversity, every time we learn to "settle in" when outside of our comfort zone, the stronger we become. Mental toughness built through physical conditioning, however, has a direct carryover to every area of our lives.

Below are effective strategies you can employ during your physical training to increase your capacity to function during times of stress and adversity.

Shift your view of physical training.

Look at physical conditioning as a tool for becoming better at handling stress. Utilize your training as a catalyst for learning how to handle pain and discomfort more effectively.

Physical training provides opportunities for growth in a variety of ways. Understand that training is an opportunity to become more efficient at applying the mental skills necessary for increasing performance. Utilize the performance psych skills of self-talk, mental rehearsal, energy management, and goal setting whenever possible during your training sessions.

Know that the discipline of willfully embracing discomfort through physical training in conjunction with the consistent practice of performance psychology has a massive impact on mental toughness.

Embrace the suck!

Recognize the pain and discomfort experienced throughout your physical conditioning and learn to embrace it. Elevate your level of excitement going into challenging and painful events. This may require a shift in your current mentality. We are after a warrior mindset or the mindset that embraces challenge and adversity!

Practice controlling your response to pain and discomfort. Make a conscious effort to lean into discomfort and use whatever mental strength you have to battle against succumbing to your current state of exhaustion.

Focus on movement quality when exhausted.

The ability to mentally focus while fatigued is very crucial to performance and is a skill set that must be trained. Make a habit of being intentional and aware of the mind and muscle connection while physically taxed. Avoid getting “lazy” when tired and continue to press into the fight. Be aware that your posture has a direct effect on your state of mind as well. Train your posture and resilience to fatigue and enhance your mental strength as a result.

Stay in the fight!

Adjust to the pain, but don't quit! Learn how to effectively manage your energy and make the necessary adjustments. Do not give in to pain and discomfort, but adjust to the demands through effective energy management.

Your ability to consciously adjust your effort or output will ultimately depend upon the current demands of the situation and the length of the evolution. Experience and time spent being uncomfortable are key. Intensity and duration are inversely related!