Breaking through your limits.

[gclark2002]

This question goes out to anyone who has been through BUD/S especially you team members past and present: Everyone reaches a wall when they think they can progress no further, to endure no longer, and entertain the idea that maybe their trip has come to an untimely end and it's best to call ones losses and leave the table, how did you break through this barrier? I think this is a problem transcendes all facets of life; personal relationships, athletic pursuits, even academics and the spitirtual (for those who choose to explore it). I would be extremely grateful for any relevant experiences that you are willing to share. I realize that often these are intimate experiences of the most personal nature, and some choose not to share them. I respect that, but those who do inspire others to become greater than themselves through the catharsis of shared experience.

[rsctt83]

Please read interview with extreme endurance athlete Marshall Ulrich which is within the forums.

Extreme endurance events will push you to the point of complete exhaustion on both the physical and mental fronts. The secret that I have found is to adopt the strategy of BABY STEPS. Basically this involves thinking in terms of very short doable goals, using BUD/S as an example it would be like just make it to the next evolution, meal, sunrise or at the extreme just another minute. This pushes the quit aside and you divert your energy to a goal you can see yourself completing even when you are totally hammered. This technique takes your mind off of how in the world can I do this for another three months. Thinking in the long term will beat you down mentally and is a reciepe for failure. Thinking in the shortest of terms will get you through pretty much anything {assuming of course you have the burning desire to succeed}.

I recently did a double crossing of Death Valley in heat of summer. This run was just shy of 300 miles. We used a supply van that was never further than one mile away from us, we would run to the van get fluids and the van would drive another mile. We had baby goal of just getting to the van. After a while low and behold we completed the 300 miles. This is a great example of baby step strategy.