The Five Pillars to Elite Performance
Stepping into the warrior class is no easy feat. One so daunting and painstaking that out of the limited few that qualify for a shot, approximately a quarter will actually make it. The mental and physical capabilities of top-tier operators reach well beyond those that are recognized by outsiders. What most people see is the physical; the visual representation of gear, weapons, and the visual makeup of these individuals. What's not seen, and where we are all capable of attaining attributes and qualities of a warrior, are in the fine details. It’s in the routines that are worked on daily and fine tuned to be fail proof. In the people that warriors surround themselves with and down to the knowledge consumed, the nutrition that feeds our bodies, and the fitness regimens that are strictly adhered to. These are the five pillars to performance and ultimately, the longevity of life as an elite performer.
I want to break down each of these areas in order to specifically understand why they’re so beneficial to performing at your best. Operating within Special Operations takes a high degree of control over your decisions and emotions. That means pushing your ego to the side and adopting a mindset of being better, and doing better, than you did yesterday. The only easy day was yesterday because you are willing to push yourself to achieve more and take control of your outcomes.
Knowledge. As Operators we are force fed information through six different fire hoses, all at once, and are expected, and tested, to make sure we have not only heard the information, but we have learned the information. Yes, this is knowledge on every level, but the difference is that we became experts at the consumption of knowledge. Many of us are nearly addicted to learning in order to become better. Learning to consume and be hungry for new knowledge is a learned skill and you have to be dedicated in pursuing it. In the SEAL Teams, in the most competitive environment imaginable, you either got hungry for more or you got left in the dust. In this world, being open to learning something new, while the vast majority of our population sits around stagnant and dying, is the difference between starting on the path of performance or not. Change comes slow, so be patient. Find two areas of interest and start learning more about them. Take classes, read books, do something hands on, and test yourself! Simply, the more you make the knowledge and application of that knowledge part of your daily life, positive change is inevitable.
People. How does a tree thrive and grow to be tall, strong, and healthy? Their environment. The environment that a person is exposed to will have a direct reflection on growth, performance, and ultimately the health of the individual. Within Special Operations we are surrounded by some of the most high performing and mentally capable men in the world, on a daily basis. This type of interaction and environment grows warriors. This type of environment is not only found in the military though. While the example is unique to my profession, creating an environment that grows top performers is completely attainable and one that should be sought after, and constantly assessed and grown. When looking at your environment, be brutally honest with the assessment. Take a close look at your life and ask yourself where value and growth happens, and also where does stagnation and comfort take place? Remove negative people from your life and seek people that challenge you, push you, hold you accountable, and make you give a shit again; create your environment for high performance.
Nutrition. This is an area that affects performance across the board, from your mental acuity to your body's physical abilities including output, sleep, and recovery. The fact is that the older we get, and the more strain we put on our bodies, the more the nutrients we put into our bodies matter. Regardless of profession, seeking to perform at our best is a must and this will start with the fuel we put in our bodies. This is eating for performance. This means we are seeking to eat in order to be our best, not to be comfortable. Any professional athlete knows that proper nutrition can make the difference in their training, which makes a difference on game day, but you don't have to be a professional athlete to want to train harder and perform on game day. Every day is game day because you never know when you or your family will need you to perform in a no fail situation. Take a hard look at your consumption and make cuts to any items that are negatively affecting your ability to feel your best and be your best.
Routine. When Operators are prepping for a mission each task to be done, both team and personal, are required to be done right, every time. The mission gear for the team must be checked and double checked in order to make sure things are ready, functioning appropriately, and have redundancies where necessary. Personal gear is no exception. Every piece of kit must be checked, all weapons are cleaned and function checked, batteries are replaced in optics and night vision to ensure full reliability, jump checks are done to ensure unnecessary noise won't be a factor, and the list goes on. Next up, buddy checks and the list repeats. This is done with painstaking attention to detail. This is routine and it is practiced over and over with precision in order to never leave room for preventable error or lapses in any specific area. This same concept of routine can and should be practiced in everyday life to achieve the same benefit. When we go about our daily lives, seek to establish routines in key areas of your life that you can control, like your morning and evening routine. Setting routines that work for you will help you optimize your time in areas that will have a huge benefit in how you own your day, and create wins from start to finish. Your life and wellness should be at the same level of importance as any mission, just know the stakes and results are usually a slow burn, hence why people are so bad at it. If they don't see the benefit immediately or suffer the consequences immediately it's hard to see the importance. Stay disciplined and you will see these changes in your routine launch your time, health, and performance towards the unstoppable.
Fitness. Arguably the easiest area of performance to conceptualize, and also the area that is most associated with performance, yet it is the hardest area to actually put into practice in order to achieve the vast amount of physical and mental benefits. When a person is sedentary all the systems of your body follow suit. Your muscles atrophy, your mind degrades, and your overall health deteriorates. A person cannot perform at an elite level without proper focus and dedication to fitness, period. No matter where you’re at physically, treat the area of fitness with a crawl, walk, run approach and simply begin by moving! Every building or structure needs a strong base in order to stand tall and last a lifetime; you are no different. Build a strong base by starting small, progressively increasing stress and load on your muscles, bones, and joints over time. This can be as simple as doing a 1-mile walk three times a week. Increase your distance first and then increase your speed. Steadily begin to add weight training to your fitness routine using the same philosophy as before. The most important part of your fitness path will be consistency. Just show up and do the work. Too often the excuse of “I have no time” is the reason people stop or don't even start focusing on their fitness. That's bullshit and we all know it. If you say you don’t have time it’s because you didn’t control your environment to make space for the time. The vast majority of life is choices and there are consequences to your choices. If you choose to prioritize things over you, over your health, you will reap the consequences. In order to find the elusive “time” you must first start with a map, a map of your normal day. Map out your day down to 15-minute increments, detailing everything from the time you wake up, to your morning routine, and each task within it, down to dinner and the time you go to bed. When you do this the time for fitness will be crystal clear. Fitness, in its purest form, teaches any individual commitment, mental toughness, and discipline. These areas of performance compound on each other and the benefits will be seen through every aspect of your life, in every way.
Each of these five pillars to elite performance, when built together and focused intent is applied to each, breeds warriors. This world needs warriors. Ones who have control over themselves and their decisions. Warriors lead and lead by example. In the absence of leadership, which our country is in desperate need of, be that man. Take control of your life and perform for yourself, for your family, for your country.
Alex Fichtler
DSG Cadre and former Navy SEAL
