| Page Links |  | | |
| Shopping |  | | |
| Forum | | | |
| Site-Ring | | | |
| MilTerms.com | | | |
| Grunt Award | | | |
| Rank Insignia | | | |
| Medals/Ribbons | | | |
| Factsheets | | | |
| Misc. Reference | | | |
| Suggestions | | | |
|
|
How to Create a Mental Barrier Between You and... You
By Michael Volkin
The purpose of basic training is to break you down as a civilian and build you back up into a lean, mean, fighting machine. Although many people associate boot camp with rigorous physical training, there is actually more mental training involved than you might think.
In my book The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook: Tips, Tricks and Tactics for Surviving Boot Camp I emphasize the importance of mental preparation. The mind is very powerful and can often overcome extreme physical feats simply by focusing your mental energy. If you haven’t already been to boot camp you will soon understand the difficulty of standing at attention in formation during a rain storm when a mosquito is buzzing in and out of your ear. Moving while at attention will be an invitation from your drill sergeant to make you do push ups.
So what is the best way to focus your mind while at boot camp to keep you out of trouble?
Let’s use this scenario: It’s 2 a.m. and your drill sergeant wakes up your entire platoon because someone forgot to flush the toilet. Oops, that is a costly mistake. As you stumble angrily down the hall you now learn you have to get better acquainted with the pavement outside (i.e. perform pushups). As you stumble downstairs you hear the rain start. Now you’re furious, the rest of the platoon is furious, and your drill sergeant is furious. Here is the catch: you shouldn’t be furious. When you leave for basic training you should expect scenarios like this. In fact, for those who have already been through boot camp reading this article, I bet you have a similar story.
To focus your emotions and your mind toward your goal (which should be to graduate basic training), follow these tips:
Be a blank canvas: Allow thoughts to enter and exit your mind, but resist the urge to follow your thoughts. Focus your thoughts on soldierly tasks instead and always keep the big goal in mind.
Count: If you find it difficult to let go of your thoughts, count slowly and breathe slowly.
Be actively attentive: As you stand at attention in formation, try to keep your attention on the task at hand and be strict with yourself. Each time your mind wanders, return it to the task.
Find a focal point: This is especially important when standing in formation. Your eyes, at attention, should be straight forward. That means you should be focusing on every little hair on the back of the soldiers neck in front of you, of if your taller than most, you should be focusing on the soldiers cover (i.e. hat).
The number one trick to overcoming frustration at basic training is to expect the mental “pain”. Remember this rhyme to help you focus in boot camp; expect the pain and you will gain.
SGT Michael Volkin is the author of The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook: Tips, Tricks and Tactics for Surviving Boot Camp, now available in paperback, e-book and audio book at ultimatebasictraining.com.
|
|
