Physical and mental preparation for the special forces and in general*
My objective here is to give you something to read (whether you'll read it once or once everyday) that will touch on the preparation, discipline and motivation that I believe helped me and could help you to succeed.
(I'll start by saying, if you're seriously injured or mentally ill, you should not draft to combat - no matter how much you want to give of yourself. The army is an intense and demanding experience both physically and psychologically and we can give much more to the world over a lifetime than by jumping into waters too deep and stormy for us to sail and there are many jobs available).
The more prepared we are for challenges the higher our chances of success because you can't prepare for every individual challenge, you can only build foundations and support systems to hold up against even the unexpected. This is true both for physical obstacles as well as mental. When the going gets tough, whether physically or emotionally, if your reaction is to shut down/give up you won't succeed - but if you train yourself to grit your teeth and dig deep, you can build habits that will help you on your path to growth and success.
I learned this lesson about the importance of foundations and the right reactions long before I passed any selection; in the pre-army programs I did, they threw the most creative and toughest challenges our way in order to prepare us and teach us the mindset that would help us overcome any obstacle. When your muscles burn or your skin tears, the pain needs to drive you forward, the mountain should make you want to sprint uphill with a smile and the heaviest sandbag needs to have your name written on it in your mind.
Planning and direction.
If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there.
If there's somewhere you want to be; a unit you want to get to or really any goal you have, you can't just drive on any road, you need to plan a specific route. The problem is that sometimes there's no road, so you've got to build one. Have a specific direction and go straight at it. Make a plan that will get you to where you want to be.
Pretty much nothing is impossible - they said it was impossible to put a man on the moon and eventually someone asked why. Whoever answered him probably said something about the atmosphere and he then asked what he'd need to get past it, they then told him rockets and he asked what he'd need for those, and they said scientists and he asked about them and they said he'd have to hire them and he went and did the fundraising and put someone on the moon. The point of that (non-literal) story is that you can break down your goal into bite-sized pieces and get through it. That journey of a thousand miles actually does begin with a single cliche step.
I chose where I wanted to serve, did the research and at every turn Israelis told me why I wouldn't make it. I have every reason they told me written down and I turned those stumbling blocks into my stepping stones. My plan was built according to everything they thought would stop me. I used all my resources to gather information about how to gain the skills I lacked, make up for my weaknesses and breakthrough everything meant to stop me.
Discipline and consistency.
Excellence is not an act, it's a habit.
You have a plan and you know where you're going, now you need to put in the effort to get there. This is the everyday grind, where you put in the real work. Write the words discipline and consistency on your calendar and remind yourself every day of those two principles, they are the foundation for building the right habits. Discipline and consistency mean working every day and pushing your boundaries so that you can go from where you are now to where you want to be. Write down a to-do list and keep a journal so that you can actually see your consistency and work on your discipline. Wake up early to work out every day, train with every training group that offers you assistance prepping and make sure you're eating and resting enough to build your body (at the same time you must stay clear of injury and not push your body too far too fast). I trained three times a week with TSEVET LOHAMIM, even if it meant missing shifts at my job that my boss wanted me to work or travelling an hour or two each way. I also had training partners who could push me to be better at every work out session. I stayed goal-orientated every day.
(To clarify about some main points :
-build relationships with strong-minded friends and mentors
-work out almost every day,
-work on your Hebrew every day
-take care of your body - stretching, sleep and eating and take care of your mind - prayer/meditation, journaling and a support system - all the time)
Failure and success.
If you try you may lose but if you don't try then you've already lost.
You have to shoot your shot or you'll never know how good a marksman you can be. So go to that selection (gibbush), go to every gibbush including the preparation ones, and give your absolute 100% (The only gibbush I didnt come out bleeding from was gibbush matkal). If you don't succeed in reaching your goal, if you faint or fall or don't get picked, then pick yourself back up and give to the country in the best way you can. It’s not over ... ever, even when you want it to be, you need to get up and keep up the fighting spirit. Think about it like this, in all your prepping, you turned your heart into the heart of a warrior and that heart isn't ever going to be okay with failure. So whenever you fall, find a way to get back up.
If you get injured, find a way to heal.
If you get dropped from combat become some kind of instructor.
If you didn't get the unit you wanted, become an officer and better the unit you’re in for everyone else.
If you failed to smile in the last hakpatza remind everyone to smile in the next.
The top of the mountain is the bottom of the next.
The only easy day was yesterday
Real talk, it never gets easier if you keep up that work ethic of discipline and commitment but you get stronger. When you finish yom sayarot you've got gibbush and after gibbush you've got tironut and after that advanced training and when you make it to the end of maslul so you need to train yourself to be stronger and faster and better than you've ever been. None of that disheartens you though, because when you see a steep uphill - you've already trained yourself to smile and lock your eyes onto the peak as you start your sprint. At the top of this mountain is the beginning of the next mountain but don't worry because you are that much more ready for it.
Overcoming challenges
Challenges are what make life interesting.
Overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.
Life is full of challenges. The army is one type and studying in university is another.
Choose your battles and challenge yourself every step of the way because that's how you grow.
If you're running up that sanddune and there's someone in front of you, overtake him.
If you're learning Hebrew then learn 3 more words a day than you would have.
If you're coming to a training session have your equipment that much more prepared.
The challenges never stop coming, with the right mentality you can overcome them all because you've built a habit of discipline and consistency and a drive to better yourself and the things around you and you can improve at every occasion.
Personal experiences?
Thank God I've had my own wild ride with the army but I can't really talk about much of it (or I'd have to kill you). Your instructors and fellow lone soldiers though, all have stories and friends with stories and stories of stories and will for sure be able to help.
Don't wait to hear my boring story, go make your own.
Written by Gabriel B.
