I went to buds. Passed all the screening, the physical fitness tests etc… day one I quit and don’t regret it. I knew I wanted to be a SEAL until reality smacked me in the face. I knew on day one I didn’t have it in my heart. No regrets it was fun but it simply wasn’t for me and not something I wanted. Mad respect to all these guys.

I wanted to quit basic training after 5 days. The Recruit Instructor Warrant Officer told me I would regret it if I did.
Thankfully I listened to him, toughed it out and ended up with a 11 year career in the military and made great lifelong friends.

Jocko Podcast NOW ALSO IN COLOUR, amazing!

As an outsider, I think the greatest torture would be knowing that you have the ability to quit at any time.

When Jocko went through BUDS, the instructors rang the bell

I'm 40 and I've quit everything in my entire fucking life. I quit football twice once in Jr high then again in high school.  I quit college 3 times and only put myself in debt. Got a great job in a suit and tie for 10 years then quit that job. Unfortunately I was addicted to heroin for years when I quit my job and overdosed twice. The one good thing I quit is heroin about 5 years ago. I now run my own lawn care company and it scares the shit out of me. I love doing my job and have people who rely on me and have ZERO thoughts of quitting but it's still something I'm very concious of. I just want to stop this fucking cycle of not coming through for myself and for others.

I've got a family member who was in the special operations community. He played lacrosse, football, and wrestled as a kid - wasn't a starter in any of them and would never make any all star team. But, he was that insane cardio guy who was  a little pitbull who would never, ever quit. I used to go to his lacrosse practices and watch older starters knock the crap out of him - never willingly gave an inch and didn't complain about it. You know that guy who ran suicides after practice every day when everyone was hitting the shower - that was him. It made sense to the family when he showed up in his distinctive uniform.

“A lot of guys can do a day of SEAL training but doing it for days back to back is the hard part”

To get an idea of how terrible BUD/S is - a jiu jitsu training partner of mine was in outstanding shape. 5’8, 185, shredded. I saw this guy do 8 BJJ matches at one tournament and win seven (he lost on the Absolute finals vs a 220 lb dude, and barely, on points). He also ran a 100-mile marathon. He lasted two weeks in BUD/S, then had to do six years on boats to fulfill his enlistment.

I remember in 1986 the Special Forces Qualification Course would play Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust" every time someone quit.  I got to know that song very well by the end of Phase 1.  It's a true mind game...DOL

Logic dictates they can only accept a certain maximum number of people anyway, so they're hoping people will ring the bell.

"I was warm and then BOOM I woke up in my spaghetti"

Best sentence ever

I think knowing you can quit at anything in life is the biggest culprit for people doing so. When you put your mind in a place of “there is no way out, this is my prison,” that’s when you succeed.

That's the misconception in  joining the military (I am former Navy). People, esp. when you are young and "in shape", prepare themselves to run, swim, and do loads of pushups, by training before, many getting "big" only to find out, its more of mental fitness than the physical part. The instructors know EVERYONE has physical limitations, you can only do so many pushups, esp. after 30 minutes of just getting hammered with "up, down, hold....". Its the mental capacity to endure physical discomfort. "nothing last forever" was something we always were told by instructors, but in that moment, when you are more physically baked and beaten 1000% more than 2-a day football practice in a week, your mind determines if you quit or not. Many of the physical challenges are "no win", they design it this way, psychological fitness if the mindfuck that makes people convince themselves, "I cannot do this".  I, at 52, continue to compete in mountain bike racing, XC and Enduro. This is one sport that it requires that mental mindset, of "I will not quit". Your lungs are exploding, your HR is 170-190BPM, your legs are just crushed, BUT, if you can just take each pedal stroke as progress, maybe you finish first, maybe middle of pack, maybe last place (Been to all three spots) but, the only thing I will NOT do is quit. Period. I will have to literally pass out, cramp up or be physically unable to ride further before I am unable to complete the race. That mindset is all about accepting the ability to be comfortable being uncomfortable, because, there is a finish line, I will  be home, eating drinking and sleeping, but just not at this moment.

Just gonna add this to the pot because we actually had a lot of people quit from my infantry basic training. You always hear “it’s all mental” well it’s true. I don’t think majority of people truly know what that means or give it the true weight it deserves. It’s not about going and enduring the cold water, all the push-ups, all the yelling. Anyone can make it through an intense smoke session, or being freezing cold in the sand. The problem is this; they start thinking “wow, this is day ONE. I have to keep doing this, and probably much worse.” Then they start to DWELL on that, they start obsessing over these negative ideas in their head. Those thoughts will take a motivated person and turn them into a quitter. THAT is what’s tough. That’s what is is hard. Overcoming your own mind. I remember doing PT in the sandbox while it’s pouring down rain in 35 degree weather. Just miserably cold, sand friggin everywhere, 4 am. It sucked, and it sucked bad. I remember laying in a puddle of sand thinking “okay, this sucks, and then I have to endure a full day of other sucking, and then I get no sleep and get to do it again.” I don’t think it’s healthy to think that way. If I could’ve just looked at it like “okay, I only have to do this for another hour, then I get to go take a hot shower, and then eat some food.” One evolution at a time, and that’s a saying to also help with your mental struggles of anxiety and questioning what’s to come next.

I’ll tell you right now, I don’t think there was a dude in my entire class who didn’t want to at least quit during reception. It’s a culture shock, it’s a lifestyle shock, it’s a shock to your entire core. It’s okay to think “wow, why did i do this, I don’t know if I can make it.” What’s important is how you tell yourself “no, I can do this, there’s a reason why I chose this, and I’ll laugh at this once I’m through it.” Don’t expect to just somehow get mentally ready before you go. How can you prepare for something you have NO IDEA how it truly is. What you can mentally prepare for is going through absolute mental hell, and realizing that it is temporary and that you CAN do it. Truly focus on your goal, truly focus on your dream. When you have a negative thought, take a second to tell yourself that this is your dream and you can do it.

Criss Kyle said at one point in BUDs he decided to ring out but he was too damn tired to get up and walk over to the bell.

I remember in football my coaches always told us when we were tired that the other team is feeling the exact same way. Having that mindset that no matter how tough something gets for you, the guy across from you is dealing with the same pain and thoughts is what can really keep you going strong believe it or not

We had 30 slots for a school and 100 guys wanted it. First step, PT test. Made that. 70 guys left. After that PT at 05:00 every day to see who would quit or fall out. Numbers dwindled. Last day the instructor took off running like a bat out of hell with us running in formation. He told the assistant instructors to gather whoever fell out of the run. About the time I started thinking “I can’t do this any more,” he said “quick time, march.” There were 25 of us left. I made it.

I can’t friggin imagine doing that all day, wet and cold, for weeks. I ain’t that special.

The insane tenacity level of each branches training from basic to SF is dependent upon the tasks they probably will be asked to perform for real.

35 degrees Fahrenheit 90% of the year in Poole Uk 🇬🇧 where royal marine commando’s who have done artic warfare training in the snow in Norway come to do SBS training! They dive in almost zero visibility and are permanently cold the seals come to train with the SBS and love them, they come home inspired by the cheerfulness of there brothers across the pond, who have a way smaller budget, way less kit, but bring there commando “cheerfulness in the face of adversity “ mantra to every task. They never give an inch, or give up!