Actually, there are goal trackers, habit motivators, smart reminders, and all manner of electronic assistants designed to help you establish habits and achieve goals. If you haven’t been to the App Store lately, a quick search will bring up dozens of them. There might even be an app called persistence—I’m not here to give out reviews, but combining the right tools with the right mindset will tip the balance in your favor. Folks ask me all the time, “How did you make it through SEAL training?” My first response is always: The only way to make it through training is to focus on the task at hand—the next step, the next breath. If you can’t complete a small portion of your goal in a day, you’ve made the goal too big.
Focus on what you can control
It was never my goal to create the fastest growing company in the country. My focus was to deliver products that helped people take control of their bodies. What I learned during my 13 years of starting and running that first company was the same thing Navy SEAL instructors strive to teach SEAL candidates: focus on what you can control. The most important thing we can control is our ability to press on. Nothing else matters. There’s no app for persistence. It has and always will begin with you. Your ability press on will inspire others to do the same.
Your focus determines the action you take
Feel tired? If you keep your focus on how tired you feel guess what happens? Not much. Feel Fired UP? Think you’ll feel negative or unmotivated? Doubtful. More than likely you’ll be moved to take all kinds of actions. The key is knowing that your focus is the driver to making action happen. Adversity and the struggles and hardships that come with it make you stronger—they will empower you to get what you want out of life. If it were easy, everyone would do it, but you’re not just anyone! You’re on a mission to achieve your goals and maximize your life. So the next time adversity comes knocking, welcome it and then knock it back with a vengeance! Hit it with persistent action so overwhelming that any future obstacles that come down your path are no longer considered obstacles, but opportunities to excel. This, my teammates, is the advantage of adversity.
Go challenge yourself!
