Navy SEALs are among the most respected military men in the world, partly they are widely considered as fearless.
The secret to that fearless attitude is the intense training they undergo. Their secret is what psychologist call habituation. This simply means the more you're exposed to something that you initially fear, they less it will appear as fear to you and eventually you become immune to it. You get used to it.
Only 3 out of every 10 SEAL candidates make it through training and graduate. Graduating as a SEAL is not all about being physically fit, Lieutenant Commander Mike H of executive officer of SEAL Team 10, says, "Today, our primary weapons systems are our people's heads. You want to excel in all the physical areas, but the physical is just a prerequisite to be a SEAL. Mental weakness is what actually screens you out."
Eric Potterat relates this study to sports and described the difference between winners and losers. "Physically, there's very little difference between athletes who win Olympic gold and the rest of the field. It's like the SEAL candidates we see here. Terrific physically. Situps, pushups, running, swimming — off the charts, superhuman. But over at the Olympic center, the sports psychologists found that the difference between a medal and no medal is determined by an athlete's mental ability. The elite athletes, the Tiger Woods, the Kobe Bryants, the Michael Jordans — this is what separates them from the competition. Knowing how to use the mental to their advantage."
(Thanks Dr. Lisa Mills, Navy Research)
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