By: Justin Kobler
As an instructor at the Air Force Special Warfare Preparatory course and the Air Force Combat Dive course, my students and other potential candidates often asked me what the key was to successfully completing the 2-year training pipeline. My answer was always, mindset.
.JPG)
The “pipeline” is a rigorous and grueling process that tests
you mentally and physically. While few of the specific events or different
courses themselves are very difficult, it’s the cumulative effect of knowing
you have to wake up and give everything you’ve got, every day for 2 years that
makes the pipeline so difficult. This is where mindset plays a huge factor. You
might have a bad day or an event you’re struggling to get past, but mentally, you
have to accept that it happened and then move on to the next day or event.One of the things you’re evaluated on is how you deal with
failure and adversity. Do you let failing get in your way of successfully
completing the next event? Your mindset can be the difference between overcoming
adversity to accomplish your goals—or not.
Optimistic mindset
My mindset during my pipeline was, “Why can’t I?” This is a
form of an optimistic
mindset that helped me see where I had control to accomplish my
goals. I asked myself, “Are the candidates who complete this pipeline that much
better than I am? If they can do it, why can’t I?” I wasn’t the strongest or
fastest on any of the teams I was on during training. But I never doubted I
belonged on each team and could find a way to excel. A candidate might have
performed better than me on an event 9 times in a row, but knew I was mentally
prepared to go again the next time we were called on to perform.
Mindfulness mindset
Mindfulness is the act of staying focused on the present task
at hand and letting other thoughts come and go without judgement. Having a mindfulness
mindset can play a huge part in your success. Knowing the pipeline lasts 2 years
if you don’t have any setbacks, and that you’re going to be tested more than 700
days in a row, can be a daunting task. My mindfulness mindset was, “I am not
going to worry about what event comes next, when I get to eat lunch or what
time of day it is. Every event has to end and eventually I’ll get to eat and
sleep. All I am going to focus on is the event I’m currently doing.” Instructional
self-talk is a tool that can help you stay focused on each step to
accomplish the task at hand and apply a mindfulness mindset. Check out HPRC’s self-talk
optimization worksheet to help you apply instructional
self-talk.
Bottom line
The biggest difference between a candidate who successfully
completes demanding courses like the pipeline and one who doesn’t make it
through is mindset. Having an optimistic or mindfulness mindset will greatly improve
your chances of success. Don’t let the anxiety of what’s coming next or the
knowledge you have 2 years of difficult training ahead affect your performance.
The pipeline is a marathon, not a sprint. You complete a marathon by putting
one foot in front of the other until you’ve crossed the finish line. You
complete the pipeline by accomplishing one event at a time.
