Crawl, Walk, Run.
These are the basics of Military Training
Whether you are a civilian, soldier, or vet… learning never stops.
You can try to not learn anything new, but it will hurt much more than taking on the mission of continually developing your understanding of your Self and your World.
“Pain Is Weakness Leaving The Body”, is a phrase that has gone out of style in military training. For good reason. There is a limit to how hard you should push in any moment, so you can continue to push over time.
“Embrace The Suck”, still works.
Yeah… Somehow that second one sounds funnier to me writing it now than in the original context.
My point, and I do have one, is that pain lets you know your points to recover and develop more attentively. Your weakest or tightest pain points are where you are most susceptible to injury that can impact the rest of your life.
That’s the opposite of a force multiplier.
My gig with the Army was as a medic. Our primary focus was to be a force multiplier. If we could keep the troops well in good times, and stabilize to enable repair and healing in hard times, we could keep our fighting forces stronger that they would be without us.
Look for the skills that can be force multipliers in your life. Keystone systems to help you on your path of heroic awesomeness!
We will get into physical mobility, stability, and strength in the future… but for first we need to address the mind side.
Several military concepts have transferred well into my civilian life. Whether you are a vet looking for how to transition well, someone wanting to know how to communicate effectively with a service member, or just wanting to up your performance, these 4 concepts are worth spending a moment with.
Mission Planning
Risk Assessment
OODA Loop
AARs
The last one in the general order of operations here is the one I want to start with.
Side note: Backwards Planning is also a strategy that involves working backward from the goal. Let me know if you want to hear more from me on that.
After Action Reviews (AARs)
After Action Reviews are a method for continual improvement, by reflecting on our actions and their outcomes.
The entire system can be summed up in soldier speak as, “Three ups and three downs”. However, a much more helpful structure is the more official “Three Sustains and Three Improves”.
When we look at a situation, and we start with three positive features related to what we did, it sets us up for victory. It primes our brains to look at our successes, even when we are feeling the failures. It helps us to grow our strengths, and strengthen our spirits as we move on to the next stage. Addressing the downs.
If we focus on three downs, that just sucks. If you really want to embrace the suck, you step your game up and stop sulking and complaining. You look for three points for improvement, AND how to improve. This makes every “failure” into a teaching point for how to achieve excellence.
Everything has light and dark aspects to appreciate, and to decide whether or not to emulate.
Consider trying daily AARs! They are a positive and practical kick in the pants, that can help you gear up appropriately for tomorrow’s mission.
Mission Planning
Anything that requires a bit of planning can be structured for success by treating it as a mission.
What is your mission in life?
It’s probably not to be an asshole. Remember that.
A key to excellent mission execution, is the effective communication that clear planning, operational orders, and reporting offers.
Understanding your overarching goals or, Commander’s Intent will always put your focus and attention where it is most needed. This is especially important when distractions come between you and your objective.
“If you want to tell God a joke, make a plan.”
Your plan needs be supple. If it is rigid, it is bound to fracture.
Imagine going on a “vacation” where every moment is planned down to each detail. If your goal is to relax and unwind, you need to adjust your planning to suit your intent.
Sometimes the mission is to recover, and designing a structure that allows time for active rest… or total decompression, must be valued.
Can you be a “Hard Charger” at healing yourself, so you can be your most powerful?
Risk Assessment
Every mission, every action, has risk.
Imagining the problems we may encounter allows us to plan mitigation strategies.
By looking at the risks associated with a road trip, we can plan for vehicle failure, bad weather, bathroom or sickness emergencies, and those other drivers who clearly are not as good at driving as us.
We can learn how to change a tire, where our repair kit is located, and who to call for roadside assistance. We can make sure our tires have good tread, or that we have snow chains handy. We can have large ziplock bags and wet wipes on hand. We can remember that our intention is to get everyone on the road to where they are going safely, not to teach anyone a lesson.
Don’t beat yourself up for not recognizing a risk the first time you encounter it… but note it. Bring it up in the After Action Review.
We will get to that after the mission is complete, but first… how do you respond when you are already engaged and things go sideways?
OODA Loop
Observe
Orient
Decide
Act
This system was developed by fighter pilots, to create a kind of mental muscle memory, for clearing a jammed mind.
Observe the situation.
Where are you? What is going on? What resources do you have available?
Orient yourself towards the objective.
Objective is determined through the Commander’s Intent. What is your objective? What paths can you take to get there?
Decide your next action.
What route will you take? What skills and resources will you use, or need to acquire?
Act
Nothing to it, but to do it. Pick your moment. Get it done!
I Just Told You…
Now you have a few Military Grade tools in your tool box.
Your Turn
These tools get more powerful the more you get used to using them, and applying them in unique and interesting situations.
Want a deeper dive on a specific topic? Have a story to share about how one of these systems helped you, or how one failed? Reply to this e-mail, or reach out via twitter @superyousystems
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