The U.S. Navy Seals are elite in their ability to handle fear and execute in the face of adversity.

Here's four mental tools from Seal training you can use to get the job done despite great difficulty and stress.

⬇︎THREAD⬇︎

1/ Goal Setting

• Activates the higher part of our brain, the pre-frontal cortex, which helps keep the lower, survival-based amygdala in check.

• Gives the mind a clear picture of what needs to be done.

• Write it down. Read it. That alone makes it more likely to happen.

2/ Visualization

• The brain is bad at distinguishing vividly imagined events from those that actually happened.

• You can get mental reps of anything - which can also bring increased calm, clarity, and confidence

• Visualization has long been employed by elite athletes...

• Michael Phelps began utilizing visualization at 13-year old.

His Coach would tell him to rehearse the perfect race in his head before he went to sleep. In training he would push Michael, telling him to “put the tape in.”

His goggles filled with water and he still won gold.

3/ Self-talk

• You can't control your thoughts. They are an endless stream.

But you CAN select and repeat the ones that are most helpful to you and your dreams.

• Catch yourself doing something right, say, "That's like me" and continue to reinforce the desired actions...

• You can write and script out how you want to speak to yourself in certain situations:

"So journaling, writing is the most direct function to the executive function of the brain, to thought patterns"

- Jim Loehr on the Tim Ferriss Show

https://codykessel.substack.com/p/the-curated-collection-26?s=w

• We have 6,000+ thoughts per day (some researchers say closer to 60,000)

If you can tip even 1% of those habitual thought patterns more in your favor it can be a big help.

4/ Breath Control

• Unlike other animals, we CAN control our nervous system through our breath.

• Longer and deeper exhales are calming, down-regulating your heart rate and nervous system.

• Longer and more intense inhales can excite and activate the nervous system.

The TL;DR

4 Tools Navy Seals Use to Overcome Fear:

• Goal-Setting

• Visualization

• Self-Talk

• Breathing

Use one or a combination of these tools to execute consistently at the highest level.

It's supposed to be difficult.

If you enjoyed this are are interested in other ways you can get an edge on and off the court:

1. Follow me @codykessel for more

2. Check out past "mental game" posts that have resonated with others:

https://twitter.com/codykessel/status/1505158587458461699?s=20&t=_4Npdv1-byGv1I3ny-0Tnw