The Power of an Hour
While doing research on mental toughness, I looked at
the training Navy SEALs have to endure. SEAL training is brutal. It takes over 30 months
to train a Navy SEAL to the point at which he will be ready for deployment. The
SEALs that emerge are ready to handle pretty much any task they could be called
on to perform. The training pushes them to the limit both mentally and
physically in order to weed out those who may not be able to successfully
complete the demanding missions and operations with which SEALs are faced. The
types of stresses they endure during BUD/S (Basic Underwater
Demolition/SEAL) are the same stresses they will endure as SEALs. If they can't
withstand it when lives aren't on the line, chances are good they won't be able
to withstand it when lives are at stake.
How are SEALs able to get through training which
includes their trainers pulling off their breathing gear while underwater? What
makes the difference between the trainees who make it and those who don’t?
Mental toughness is one difference.
Lieutenant Commander Mike H., an executive officer of
SEAL Team 10, says, “Today, our primary weapons systems are our people’s heads. You want to excel in all the physical areas, but the physical is just a
prerequisite to be a SEAL. Mental weakness is what actually screens you out.”
Break
Big Goals into Small Targets!
When
the going gets rough, it is so easy to simply retreat into a corner and
surrender to the forces of lethargy. This is a losing strategy! If you take time to
plan your approach, things become much more manageable. Breaking big goals down
into small, manageable tasks allows you to work toward your big goals in an
empowering instead of an intimidating way.
Even if
you aren’t sure how to accomplish your big goals, it is still important to keep
moving forward. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said: “Take the first step in
faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
And that is where the “Hour of Power” comes in.
If you
are feeling daunted, just get through the next hour. One hour, that’s all.
After that hour is finished, pat yourself on the back, take a short break, and
launch into another “Hour of Power”. Anybody can make it through an hour!
That’s
it. Just make it through the hour. Make those cold calls for just ONE HOUR.
Then relax a bit. Visualize your next hour. What challenges are you going to
meet and conquer for ONE HOUR?
One of
my clients tried this and was really excited about the results. She was having
a “motivation breakdown” and needed an idea how she could “force herself” to
make more calls and set more appointments. After a week, she was thrilled with
the results. And her motivation was coming back to boot. Not even to mention
the success she achieved. Every day. One hour at a time.
If you
haven’t yet identified any big goals you are trying to work toward, just make
sure you accomplish one significant thing every day. It could be something as
big as doing your taxes (or one hour of work on them) or as small as taking a power
walk in the park.
The
point is that every day should be at least somewhat productive. Then, if you
find yourself getting ready for bed and still feel as though you haven’t
accomplished much that day, just mentally run through your day’s “Power Hours”.
You’ll fall into a deep, satisfied sleep.
Day 1: Make sure you accomplish one significant thing
every day this week. Here we go: Take
your most important task or project and work like crazy on it for one hour. Focus
– block out everything else. Celebrate
yourself afterwards – this is very important!
Nice job.
Day 2: Break down an important
assignment or task into small parts. In what order do these microtasks need to
be done? Start on micro-task number one. Finish it. If you still have time left
in your Power Hour, get started on Task Two. When the Power Hour is finished,
pat yourself on the back, go get some water, stretch a bit, open the window and
take in some fresh air.
Ready for another Power Hour?
Go for it!
Day 3: How do SEALs survive Hell Week, the most
grueling week imaginable? One secret is disassociation. Disassociation is the
ability to disengage from one’s body and the wailing mind to focus intensely on
something besides the pain, boredom or discomfort at hand. It’s basically
“going to your happy place.”
Today, pick out your most difficult task. Maybe one
you’ve been putting off. Something that is very important to have done yet you
„just haven't felt like it“.
Rev yourself up. ONE hour, that’s all. Remind yourself
that you can get up after one hour and take a delightful rest.
Just do it.
Day 4: Thoughts of a warm shower, dry clothes and a
warm bed keep Navy SEALs from quitting while sitting for hours in freezing
water. Body builders flex and pose in front of a mirror to remind themselves
why they are doing all this exhausting training. Many marathon runners spend
the first few miles establishing their pace and the next 20 mentally building a
house, brick by brick, to get through the monotony of 26.2 miles. Long-distance
swimmers go into what they call a “swim coma” as they swim back and forth for
6,000+ meters. Some college swimmers even ‚write’ their term papers in the
pool. An office knight might think of the cup of coffee and the chat with
collegues after the Power Hour.
What significant task are you going to tackle today?
Pull yourself into focus mode and get started. If you can do your most
important tasks at a time of day when you are feeling alert and fit, you’ll get
lots more achieved.
Great job!
Great job!
Day 5: You are a
lot stronger physically and mentally than you think you are. The concept of
one's mind over the body is reflected in a phrase often chanted by candidates
and instructors alike during Hell Week: "If you don't mind, it doesn't
matter."
Sometimes it is not so
much a matter of mind over body. It has to do with mind over mind. If you
visualize yourself doing something before you actually do it, it comes as less
of a shock to you and you set yourself up for success.
The steps to mental strength:
- Familiarize
- Motivate
- Reduce negative
thoughts (stop that ‚stinkin’ thinkin’!)
- Refocus
- See success
- Set the stage for performance
Today,
pick out something challenging to accomplish. You’ll work one hour full steam
ahead then take a break. Sixty little minutes. First, visualize the steps to be
taken, then chant some motivating affirmation („If I can’t do this, who can?!“)
Remind yourself of the feeling you’ll have when the task is completed. Now DO
IT!
Relax and
enjoy yourself this weekend. You deserve it.
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